Ludhiana: Reinstate agri teachers’ cadre, say PAU students ahead of stir today

Punjab Agricultural Students’ Association will kick off their protest campaign to press for reinstatement of posts of agriculture teachers in schools and making the subject mandatory in school syllabi on Monday.
The student body has been visiting each class for over the last two weeks to mobilise the students for the campaign ever since the stir was announced on October 15.
“We have visited all the classes and explained to the students how important the issue was for them and Punjab,” said Angrej Mann, a leader of the body.
“We will start the protest march at 9 am and then sit on an indefinite strike just by gate number one around 11 am,” he added.
The agitated students claimed to have met the agriculture minister thirteen times, education minister twelve times, speaker twice, other ministers and even sent memorandums through MLAs.
“After so many meetings, we have nothing in our hands,” lamented Mann.
He claimed that after their 37-day long protest in 2022 regarding filling the vacant posts in agriculture department and creation of a post for farm teachers “as promised by Bhagwant Mann before becoming the chief minister (CM)” they were invited by the CM and assured that their demands would be considered.
“None of our demands have been met so far.”
In a report presented in the Punjab assembly in March 2023, the government had said that the earlier government dissolved the cadre for agricultural teachers. They recommended that the cadre be reinstated, and the subject be taught as a vocational subject because Punjab is an agricultural state.
This September during the Kisan Mela the students met the minister. “The minister said that he would talk to the CM, however, nothing has come of that as well,” said Mann.
PAU V-C Satbir Singh Gosal has also written to the government in favour of their demands.
“Punjab is an agrarian state. It makes sense to teach the students about agriculture so that when they pass out from school, they have a career option in agriculture as well,” said Gosal.
“If this is done, it would be beneficial to the state,” he added.