PATIALA: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Preneet Kaur and Mahila Morcha President Jai Inder Kaur today slammed the Punjab government and the Education Department for its pathetic midnight attempt to remove contractual professors and induct new teachers from the 1158 assistant professors group.
Addressing a press conference in Patiala, Jai Inder Kaur said, "While we welcome the Hon'ble High Court's decision to allow the recruitment of 1158 assistant professors, this shouldn't come at the cost of contractual teachers who have been working in colleges for 20 years."
"There are approximately 850 contractual professors working in Punjab's colleges. Despite working for many years without regular posting, they have performed their duties diligently. However, last night's education department order vacated their positions to accommodate the new teachers."
Preneet Kaur, former Patiala MP, added, "It's absurd to take away employment from these teachers to provide employment to others. What kind of education model is this? The government should secure the future of these teachers who have been educating our children for years. They should create new vacancies or establish a dying cadre, as done in Haryana."
Kaur further criticized, "This process is utterly shady. The education department set up a midnight camp at Mohindra College's girls' hostel, asking new teachers to join at 12 and 1 am. This raises security concerns for girl students studying in libraries and hostels at night. We already have issues at Rajiv Gandhi Law University; now you're creating similar problems at Mohindra College."
The leaders were accompanied by Mohindra College teachers, including Professor Meena Goyal, who shared her story: "I've worked as a sociology professor for 19 years, imparting education to numerous students. Despite our hard work, our services haven't been regularized. Instead, the government has expelled us."
On the next steps, Jai Inder Kaur said, "We'll fight for these teachers' rights everywhere. We'll consult the Education Ministry and organize protests against the Punjab government to address these professors' demands."