Ludhiana: Relaxation granted for refresher courses for promotions, teachers hail move

The state department of higher education and languages has granted relaxation for refresher or orientation courses to educators of aided colleges whose promotions have been due till June 2010, aligning them with government college teachers. The decision, communicated in a letter to the director of higher education on November 20, will benefit teachers eligible for promotions.

As per the career advancement scheme, it is mandatory for a teacher to attend the orientation or refresher courses to be eligible to be promoted as associate professors or professors, in their tenure.

Varun Goel, executive member of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) and a faculty member at LR DAV College, Jagraon, welcomed the decision. “Many teachers missed completing orientation courses for personal or professional reasons and were denied promotions. After repeated requests to the directorate of public instructions (colleges), this long-pending issue has been addressed,” he said.

According to educators, most beneficiaries of this order are now retired. “Arrears will be calculated from their eligibility date and paid accordingly,” explained Raman Sharma, a PCCTU member.

Jagwant Singh, former senator of Panjab University, highlighted the challenges faced by teachers. “Though University Grants Commission (UGC) periodically extended deadlines for refresher courses, aided college teachers were excluded from relaxations due to financial constraints by the state government. Legal efforts eventually led to this delayed decision,” he said.

He added that staff shortages, driven by a hiring freeze, often prevented principals from releasing regular teachers for mandatory courses. “Earlier, many regular teachers were not relieved by principals due to shortage of staff due to which many of them could not complete their refresher courses resulting in delayed promotions,” he informed.

The department has now instructed principals of private aided colleges to submit eligible cases promptly to ensure implementation of the order.