On August 13th in Anandpur Sahib, a group of 1158 Assistant Professors and Librarians from Punjab (Government College) gathered near the Education Minister’s residence to protest. They wanted their 483 members to be allowed to start working and requested a meeting with CM Bhagwant Mann and the Education Minister. The protesters only stopped their protest after being invited for a meeting with the Education Minister in Chandigarh on August 17th. This group was formed because the recruitment of 1158 assistant professors and librarians was cancelled by the court last year. The protesters believed that the government was not properly presenting their case in court. They said there were no legal problems in letting their 483 colleagues start working again, but the government hadn’t done anything about it yet. In October 2021, they started hiring 1,158 professors and librarians before the Assembly elections. In December, 607 people received job offers. Out of those, 124 started working, but the other 483 were not allowed to work because there were complaints about the hiring process. On August 22 of the previous year, a court cancelled the hiring, and the government appealed the decision. The protesters said that the 483 people who were not allowed to work had quit their previous jobs. They worked at government schools or private colleges before the state government hired them as lecturers. Now, they had no jobs anymore, they said.
Asst professors, librarians stage protest near minister’s residence in Anandpur Sahib
