The true reality of the ‘AAP’ government—which made grandiose claims of ushering in an ‘Inquilab’ (revolution) in the education sector in Punjab and providing world-class facilities—is now being fully exposed on the ground. Under the administration of a government that, through advertisements, boasts of modernizing the education system and sending principals on training trips to Singapore, the bitter truth is that more than half of the state’s Senior Secondary Schools are currently running in a state of administrative limbo, left entirely to fate without any permanent principals.
This reckless disregard for the future of students—who stand on the threshold of a new academic session—casts a deep shadow of doubt over the government’s sluggish administrative machinery, which, throughout its long four-year tenure, has failed to even carry out promotions to fill the vacant posts of principals. The situation is such that during the recent Mega PTMs, hundreds of schools lacked the presence of their own designated principals to meet with parents—a fact sufficient in itself to completely debunk the government’s so-called ‘education revolution.’
**How Can a PTM Be Held Without a Principal?**
Dharamjit Singh Dhillon, the State Finance Secretary and District President of the Lecturers’ Cadre Union, Punjab, strongly condemned the government in harsh terms following the meeting. He stated that Mega PTMs were conducted in as many as 950 Senior Secondary Schools across Punjab without the presence of a principal. Speaking sarcastically, he remarked that while on one hand, the government is busy staging photo-ops by sending principals abroad for training, on the other hand, hundreds of schools within the state lack even a designated school head to guide the students. Dhillon demanded that Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains move beyond the “advertisement-driven” education revolution and focus on the ground reality by appointing principals, thereby ensuring that the students’ academic progress remains unaffected. How Can the Educational Environment Improve Amidst Inadequate Arrangements?
Shivani—District President of the Union’s Ladies Wing—along with Union leaders Hemlata and Rekha Bahil, stated that maintaining discipline and educational standards in schools without a Principal is an impossibility. Union leaders Davinder Singh Guru, Jaspal Singh, Rajvir Singh Hambara, Gurjepal Singh, and Pramod Joshi—along with Advisor Amarjit Singh, Media In-charge Ramandeep Singh, Vineet Arora, Press Secretary Albel Singh Pudain, Harpreet Singh Sahnewal, and Mandeep Singh Sekhon—also took the government to task, warning that if school heads are not appointed soon, both academic results and discipline within the schools will deteriorate. Expressing his indignation, the Union’s Finance Secretary, Jagdeep Singh, added that the absence of Principals is causing severe disruptions to the daily administrative operations of the schools.
