Pb Cabinet approves rationalisation policy for teachers

To overcome the shortage of teachers in higher and senior secondary schools, the Punjab Cabinet today approved a rationalisation policy, which would also help in efficacious and judicious utilisation of the services of teachers. The decision, taken under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, was aimed at ensuring optimal utilisation of human resources in schools where there are either no teachers or deficient staff. The rationalisation policy 2018-19 would also help in removing the distinction among various categories of schools and teachers to be posted irrespective of the nature of schools, an official spokesperson said. As per this policy, the post of the head teacher would only be created in primary schools if the number of students is more than 60 -- a move that would motivate teachers to increase the strength of primary schools and prevent wastage of available manpower. The teacher-student ratio at the state-level in various cadres is 27 in primary schools, 22 for middle schools, 16 in high schools and 29 for senior secondary schools. This is well within the norms but there is still shortage of teachers at both inter-district and intra-district levels. The policy makes it mandatory for school principals to take classes (12 periods per week for principals and 15 periods per week for headmasters). The present duration of class period is 35 minutes, and the policy has restored it to its earlier duration of 40 minutes. The restoration of previous period time would reduce the periods per week from 54 to 48 periods.

The school timings would continue to be from 9 am to 3.20 pm, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson further said that the enrolment of students as on April 30, 2018 would be taken as base while implementing the rationalisation policy. Teachers suffering from life threatening disease like cancer or kidney etc. would not be shifted out even if he/she falls in surplus category, while, in their place, the teacher with the next longest duration of stay would be shifted.

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