The Punjab School Education Department has directed schools not to relieve educators whose services were ordered to be terminated following the revision of merit lists in the recruitment of 4,161 Master Cadre educators until November 17 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court extended their interim protection.
Among the affected educators are 20 from Jalandhar district, including eight mathematics, five Punjabi, five social science and two science teachers. They received termination orders through their official login IDs on October 28.
The educators were appointed in May 2023 and February 2024. Yet, their appointments were challenged in the court by other contenders, prompting a review of the answer keys and revision of the merit lists. The revised scores of the 253 educators fell below the cut-off, pushing them out of the selection zone following the exercise.
Hence, in compliance with the court's directions, the education department issued notices on May 6, proposing the termination of their services. The impacted educators challenged these notices through multiple writ petitions before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The court directed the authority to decide on the matter on May 27. It had also ruled that any adverse decision would take effect only after 10 days from the date the educators received the orders.
Following personal hearings and examination of official records, the department issued termination orders on October 28, directing that the educators be relieved only after 10 days of receiving the orders.
Nevertheless, the hit teachers again approached the High Court, looking for more time before being relieved. The court has now extended their interim protection till November 17, prompting the department to direct schools not to relieve them before that date.
Gurmail Singh, state president of the 4161 Master Cadre Union, said, "The extension of interim protection has offered temporary relief but their jobs can be saved only if the High Court imposed a stay on their termination. The government should also consider their case sympathetically and find a solution to protect their livelihoods by increasing the number of posts against the existing vacancies to accommodate them, as the termination will affect 253 families."
