Teachers raise concern as 2 of 3 fine arts lecturer posts vacant in Ludhiana

The fine arts teachers vying for promotions expressed frustration as two of the three fine arts lecturers’ posts in the district continued to remain vacant.
The post at Government Senior Secondary School, Sangowal, is the sole filled seat.
Although fine arts teachers were initially promoted in a list released June, the list was later cancelled. The fine arts teachers were not promoted in the fresh list that was subsequently released.
Master cadre teachers for 18 subjects were promoted in August and September, and they took charge as lecturers in October.
A teacher from a government school in Ludhiana, requesting not to be named, said, “We were told to submit our cases for promotion in June and lists were issued in the same month. The education department said the list was cancelled due to technical errors. In August and September, new lists were released for promotions, but fine arts were excluded.”
No vacancies in promotion quota: Official
An official from the promotions cell said there are no vacancies for fine arts in the promotional quota. The official said applications alone do not ensure promotion eligibility.
Another fine arts teacher highlighted a ‘growing interest’ in the subject among students. “Two schools, Multipurpose and School of Eminence in Bharat Nagar, have vacant posts for fine arts lecturers. With more students interested in fine arts due to trends in social media and creative careers, it is disappointing that they are not able to pursue it due to a lack of teachers,” the teacher said.
Ravinder Kaur, a teacher at a government school in Kapurthala nearing retirement, said schools in Jalandhar and Amritsar also lack fine arts lecturers.
State finance secretary and district president of the Lecturer Cadre Union Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon said they approached the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI Secondary).
“We were assured that once the other promotions were finalised, the fine arts promotions would be considered,” he said.
School Education (Secondary) director Paramjeet Singh was not available for a comment.