RTI reveals 620 vacant posts of principals in schools across Punjab
1 Oct, 2012As per reply provided to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 there were 620 vacant posts of principals in senior secondary schools across the state of Punjab. Such a significant number of vacancies raise the question of the sincerity of the government in enforcing the educational calendar and curriculum in the school. This has also lead to giving the charge of drawing and disbursing officer of these schools to the principals of nearby schools and hence, many principals were having charge of three or four schools.
On the basis of this data, a retired headmaster has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The division bench comprising of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain has directed the Punjab government to submit a status report on the vacant posts of principals. The case would be heard on December 5, 2012.
It was submitted before the High Court that out of these 620 posts, 412 pertained to those where employees with seven years' experience was required. However, as they were not available, the posts are lying vacant. The Punjab government has steadfastly refused to amend the rules to reduce the number of years of required experience.