CHANDIGARH: Taking emergency leave to sit on protest during school hours has cost five leaders of a teachers’ union dear. The Punjab education department dismissed them from the service on Tuesday for giving false reasons for their leaves.The school education director general issued the termination orders of Harjeet Singh, Harwinder Singh, Hardeep Singh, Bharat Kumar and Didar Singh based on an inquiry report submitted by the district education officer (DEO), Patiala. The official orders mentioned that the teachers had cited false reasons for taking medical and emergency leave from work, whereas they were present at the protest site to participate in the strike.All five teachers, who were working with Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), are co-conveners of Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha and had participated in protests from October 4 to 10, 2018, against the conditions imposed for regularization of contractual teachers.The teachers were issued a show-cause notice and asked to submit their reply. In their defence, they contended that they were on leave without pay from October 4 to 10. Contradicting their stance, the inquiry officer observed that the leaves were not taken for participating in the protest.The inquiry report submitted by the DEO stated that students were made to suffer as the teachers participated in protest during school hours. “They did not only waste the time of students but also instigated other teachers to participate in the protest,” stated the report.The department spokesperson said that action was taken after giving all the five leaders an opportunity of being heard. “The inquiry officer found them guilty of misleading the authorities concerned and taking leave on false grounds,” the spokesperson said.One of the sacked teachers, Hardeep said, “We will fight till we get our rights and the protest will be further intensified. It’s complete failure of the state government that has been taking unwise and hasty decisions besides making false promises.”Teachers of Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha were up in arms against the government for terms and conditions framed for regularization. The state government on October 9, 2018, had issued a notification in compliance with a cabinet decision on October 3, 2018, that teachers working in societies like SSA and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan , which are Centre-sponsored schemes, would be regularized in the department at a monthly salary of Rs 15,300 during a probation period of three years.Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha convener Sukhwinder Chahal termed the decision unjustifiable, saying: “The government has shown that it is anti-teachers and we will take this issue to people during the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.” The morcha will hold a meeting on Wednesday to decide their next course of action.SOFT TARGETThe education department has acted only against contractual teachers while it has failed to take action against regular teachers who participated in the protest against the government.SACKED TEACHERSNAME | SUBJECTHarjeet Singh | EnglishHarwinder Singh | ScienceHardeep Singh | PunjabiBharat Kumar | Social StudiesDidar Singh | Science

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