Teachers express concerns as 2 out of 3 fine arts lecturer posts in Ludhiana are vacant

Struggling for promotion, fine arts teachers expressed frustration that two of the district’s three fine arts teaching positions remained vacant.

The only vacancy filled is that of Government Secondary School, Sangowal.

Although fine arts teachers initially received promotions from the list published in June, the list was later annulled. Fine arts teachers were not promoted in the new list later published.

In August and September, master’s teachers in 18 subjects were promoted, and in October they took over as lecturers.

A teacher from a government school in Ludhiana, requesting anonymity, said, “We were advised to submit our cases for promotion in June and the letters were issued in the same month. The education department said the list was canceled due to technical errors. In August and September, new promotion lists were published, excluding fine arts.

No vacancies in the promotional amount: Official

An official from the promotion cell said that there were no vacancies for fine arts classes under the promotion quota. The official said applications alone did not guarantee eligibility for promotion.

Another art teacher highlighted the “growing interest” in the subject among students. “Two schools, Universal and School of Eminence, Bharat Nagar, have vacancies for fine arts lecturers. As more and more students are interested in fine arts due to trends in social media and creative careers, it is disappointing that they cannot pursue them due to lack of teachers,” the teacher said.

Ravinder Kaur, a government school teacher in Kapurthala who is nearing retirement, said schools in Jalandhar and Amritsar also have a shortage of fine arts teachers.

State finance secretary and district president of the Teachers’ Personnel Association Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon said they have approached the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI).

“We have been assured that once the remaining promotions are finalized, we will consider fine arts promotions,” he said.

Director, School Education (Secondary) Paramjeet Singh was not available for comment.