The school education department is struggling with an administrative lacuna, with 11 of 44, or one-fourth, sanctioned posts of district education officers (secondary) and district education officer (elementary) in Punjab lying vacant.
The data was procured by DTF from the E-Punjab website of the education department. The vacancies have triggered criticism from the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), which has said that leaving these critical posts empty across the 23 districts has crippled school administration and severely overburdened the remaining staff.
DTF Punjab state president Vikram Dev Singh, general secretary Mahinder Kaurianwali and finance secretary Ashwani Awasthi said while the Punjab government repeatedly made tall claims about major reforms in education, the ground reality presented an entirely different picture. Keeping posts responsible for administering an entire district vacant for long periods raised serious questions about the government’s commitment to school education, they said. Regarding the vacant DEO posts, an official from the education department said once the principal posts were filled, it will pave the way for their promotions as DEOs.
