Bathinda, January 17
A teacher at a government elementary school, who was found absent from the school during a surprise checking conducted by Chairman of the Zila Parishad, Bathinda, has alleged that he is being targeted as he is the president of a teachers’ union.
Continuing surprise checking of schools, Chairman of the Zila Parishad, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, conducted a checking of the Government Elementary School in Ghandabanna on Thursday and found three out of five teachers absent from school.
One of the teachers, Jagsir Singh Sahota, had taken a half-day off. But the students told Maluka that the teacher had not come to the school at all. Sahota’s wife, Archana Bohra, who is the headmistress of the school, was also found absent without any record. Another teacher, Kanwaljeet Kaur was also found absent without sanctioning any leave.
Students of the schools also apparently told Maluka during the checking that Sahota, who is the state president of the ETT Teachers’ Union, Punjab, often remains absent from the school and even when he was, he remained busy on mobile phone.
Maluka directed his officials to collect the records of Sahota’s attendance, his signature and handwriting samples and has send the same to the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (D) for further action.
Meanwhile, Sahota cried foul and alleged that he was being pressurised and that it was the state government’s attempt to suppress his union before the Lok Sabha elections.
“The union has been active invoicing its demands and the government is trying to suppress our voice by targeting me. I was absent from the school since I had to attend a meeting with the Chief Minister of Punjab at Gidderbaha. I had also applied for a leave and the application was approved by the headmistress of the school,” Sahota said.
He added that the headmistress, his wife, was also being targeted and that she was present in the school when the officials arrived. “One of the teachers was going through some personal trouble and wanted the headmistress to help and accompany her to the police station to register an FIR. The headmistress, on her way out of the school, met the officials of the Zila Parishad and still she was being accused of being absent from school despite the fact that she left the school only a few minutes before it was to get over for the day,” Sahota added.
“Why is the government not focusing on the problems which are actually being faced by these schools? There is a shortage of benches and students have to sit on mats. The electricity bill of the school has been outstanding for two months. Why do the officials oversee these problems?” Sahota questioned.
Refuting the allegations levelled by Sahota, Gurpreet Singh Maluka said, “This is not the first school that we have checked. We will initiate a departmental enquiry not only against him but also against teachers of other schools as well. The allegation that he was being targeted is baseless.”
“The half-day application filed in the name of Jagsir Sahota didn’t match his handwriting. There was a clear indication that he and his wife were working according to their convenience. Sarpanch of the village, Jarnail Singh, also complained against the couple. The students also complained against him. In fact, during a routine visit to the school today, the BDO Phul found that the couple came to school almost 10 minutes late,” Maluka added.
A teacher at a government elementary school, who was found absent from the school during a surprise checking conducted by Chairman of the Zila Parishad, Bathinda, has alleged that he is being targeted as he is the president of a teachers’ union.
Continuing surprise checking of schools, Chairman of the Zila Parishad, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, conducted a checking of the Government Elementary School in Ghandabanna on Thursday and found three out of five teachers absent from school.
One of the teachers, Jagsir Singh Sahota, had taken a half-day off. But the students told Maluka that the teacher had not come to the school at all. Sahota’s wife, Archana Bohra, who is the headmistress of the school, was also found absent without any record. Another teacher, Kanwaljeet Kaur was also found absent without sanctioning any leave.
Students of the schools also apparently told Maluka during the checking that Sahota, who is the state president of the ETT Teachers’ Union, Punjab, often remains absent from the school and even when he was, he remained busy on mobile phone.
Maluka directed his officials to collect the records of Sahota’s attendance, his signature and handwriting samples and has send the same to the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (D) for further action.
Meanwhile, Sahota cried foul and alleged that he was being pressurised and that it was the state government’s attempt to suppress his union before the Lok Sabha elections.
“The union has been active invoicing its demands and the government is trying to suppress our voice by targeting me. I was absent from the school since I had to attend a meeting with the Chief Minister of Punjab at Gidderbaha. I had also applied for a leave and the application was approved by the headmistress of the school,” Sahota said.
He added that the headmistress, his wife, was also being targeted and that she was present in the school when the officials arrived. “One of the teachers was going through some personal trouble and wanted the headmistress to help and accompany her to the police station to register an FIR. The headmistress, on her way out of the school, met the officials of the Zila Parishad and still she was being accused of being absent from school despite the fact that she left the school only a few minutes before it was to get over for the day,” Sahota added.
“Why is the government not focusing on the problems which are actually being faced by these schools? There is a shortage of benches and students have to sit on mats. The electricity bill of the school has been outstanding for two months. Why do the officials oversee these problems?” Sahota questioned.
Refuting the allegations levelled by Sahota, Gurpreet Singh Maluka said, “This is not the first school that we have checked. We will initiate a departmental enquiry not only against him but also against teachers of other schools as well. The allegation that he was being targeted is baseless.”
“The half-day application filed in the name of Jagsir Sahota didn’t match his handwriting. There was a clear indication that he and his wife were working according to their convenience. Sarpanch of the village, Jarnail Singh, also complained against the couple. The students also complained against him. In fact, during a routine visit to the school today, the BDO Phul found that the couple came to school almost 10 minutes late,” Maluka added.
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