The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved regularisation of services of 5,178 contractual teachers with full pay scales to be implemented from October 1, 2019.

The Cabinet also regularised 650 nurses of the health department as per the department’s probation rules, said an official statement.

The Cabinet meeting was held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The statement said of the 5,178 teachers, 5,078 were recruited in the master’s cadre and 100 as classical and vernacular teachers by the Education Department in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

These teachers are currently paid ₹7,500 per month and their salary would be now fixed at minimum of grade pay, which is ₹15,300 per month, till the time they are given full scale, the release said.

Reacting to the decision of regularising the jobs of teachers, SAD senior leader and former Minister Bikram Singh Majithia described it as an “election ploy” of the Congress.

“The government does not have money in the budget. They cannot give Dearness Allowance of employees and winter uniform of students. It is a just a ploy to fool the teachers’ union so as to try to get them on board for the elections. But teachers are sensible people and they will not fall for this election gimmick of the Congress,” said Mr.Majithia.

The teachers, protesting under the banner of Adhyapak Sangharsh Committee, said they were upset that the Cabinet approved giving full pay scale to 5,178 teachers from October instead of February.

“We were promised that the full pay scale will be given with effect from February this year. But the government is now saying that the full pay scale will be given from October,” Bikramjit Singh Kaddon, a member of the committee, said.

Committee formed

The teachers said that during their meeting with four Ministers - Education Minister O.P. Soni, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, Health Minister Brahm Mohindra and Cooperation and Jails Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa - they were assured that the issue of pay protection of 8,886 teachers of Adarsh schools, SSA and RMSA would also be addressed in the Cabinet meeting. “But this issue will now be looked into by a committee, along with other issues,” said Mr. Kaddon.

(With PTI inputs)