Nine master cadre teachers from Ludhiana district are among the 253 teachers facing termination by the Punjab School Education Board, prompting them to join a protest march in chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s constituency, Dhuri, on Saturday. The teachers marched through different markets, raising slogans against the government and demanding the withdrawal of the termination orders.
They alleged that errors in the answer key prepared by the examination agency, NIELIT, affected the selection process. Following a legal challenge, the Punjab and Haryana high court directed subject experts from Guru Nanak Dev University and other universities to review the answer key, after which revised merit lists were prepared. The affected teachers alleged that several candidates who had secured higher marks were dropped from the revised list.
One of the protesting teachers from Ludhiana said the recruitment process for 4,161 master cadre posts was initiated in December 2021, with the written examination held in August 2022.
“However, the department subsequently revised the selection lists again, following the court’s directions, and issued termination notices to 253 teachers on October 28,” added Kumar.
