Punjab’s government schools are grappling with a significant administrative deficit, as approximately 60 percent of sanctioned principal positions remain unfilled, according to the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), Punjab. The state government’s ‘Shiksha Kranti’ initiative, aimed at educational reform, is hampered by this critical shortage, which impacts the leadership and operational efficiency of educational institutions across the state.
Information was available with The Chenab Times indicating that out of 1,927 sanctioned posts for principals in government schools, a staggering 1,153 are currently vacant, representing 59.83 percent of the total requirement. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has placed a stay on the School Education Department’s efforts to fill these positions through promotions. A senior departmental functionary, speaking anonymously, confirmed the department’s plan to address the vacancies via promotions but noted the legal impediment. The High Court’s order, issued on August 26, has postponed any departmental promotion exercises for principal posts until January 13, 2027, pending further hearings. The court’s decision stemmed from a petition arguing that the promotion process violated service rules due to the absence of separate seniority lists for different employee cadres.
Leaders of the Democratic Teachers’ Front, state president Digvijay Pal Sharma and state secretary Resham Singh Khemuana, voiced strong criticism, labeling the government’s educational campaign as a political spectacle in the absence of essential administrative leadership. They asserted that discussions about an education revolution are hollow without adequately filled teaching and administrative positions. The DTF has reportedly engaged with officials at the District Education Office and the department on multiple occasions to advocate for immediate promotions, but their appeals have not resulted in substantive action.
The severity of the principal vacancy crisis is particularly acute in the Mansa and SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr) districts, where over 86 percent of principal posts are vacant. Mansa district has 63 vacancies against its sanctioned 73 posts, while SBS Nagar faces 45 vacancies out of 52 sanctioned positions. Other districts also report substantial vacancies, with Barnala at 78.72 percent, Tarn Taran at 77.92 percent, and Moga at 77.38 percent of their principal posts lying vacant. These figures underscore a systemic issue affecting the administrative backbone of the state’s education system.
Within the Malwa region, Moga district alone has 65 principal vacancies against 84 allocated posts. Faridkot reports 28 vacancies out of 42 posts (66.67 percent), Bathinda has 88 vacancies, and Sangrur faces a shortage in 69.47 percent of its principal positions. Kapurthala has 69.35 percent of its principal posts vacant, while Jalandhar (69.18 percent) and Gurdaspur (60.68 percent) also exceed the state average for vacancies. Jalandhar district records the highest absolute number of vacancies with 110 positions unfilled, followed by Ludhiana with 91 vacant principal posts.
Conversely, districts such as Fazilka show a lower vacancy rate at 31.65 percent, followed by Patiala at 40.37 percent, Pathankot at 46.81 percent, Muktsar at 47.73 percent, and Ludhiana at 50.28 percent. Mohali district, according to the available data, is reported to have no principal vacancies.
The issue of staff shortages extends beyond principal positions, with the DTF also highlighting that approximately 35,000 other teaching and administrative posts, including those for headmasters, block primary education officers, teachers, ETT teachers, and pre-primary teachers, are vacant across Punjab. The front further alleged that a significant number of teachers are frequently assigned to non-teaching duties, such as census operations and electoral roll revisions, which diverts their focus from instructional responsibilities and exacerbates the teaching capacity deficit within schools.
The Chenab Times News Desk
