Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Mansa, June 18

Even after doing BEd and clearing the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET) and the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), 27-year-old Sukhjit Singh is working as a labourer in paddy fields of Mansa.

A resident of Bir Khurd village of the district, Sukhjit’s parents struggled hard to help him study, hoping that he would pull them out of poverty but the situation has further worsened.

Talking to The Tribune, Sukhjit said: “I had cleared both the tests in 2018, but couldn’t find a job. I have been working in mandis for the past two years as a labourer to support my family.” He said the government should provide jobs to the youth as per their qualification as there were around 30,000 vacancies in the Education Department.

“The government has advertised posts this time, but the number is very low. The education department has claimed that around four lakh students are shifting from private schools to government schools this year. So,

the government should recruit teachers according to the number of students so that the youth can also get jobs according to their ability,” he said.

Sukhjit’s friend Makhan Singh said: “Many youngsters like Sukhjit are unemployed despite being highly qualified. We are forced to take up petty jobs.”