The report further noted that the transfers and postings to border areas in Punjab have been an issue in the state for decades
Punjab VIP teachers: Government School teachers, such as the spouses of IAS, IPS and PCS officers and relatives of politicians, who get postings of their choice in districts closer to Union Territory of Chandigarh on a ‘deputation basis’, will now have to return to their original place of postings starting Jan 1, 2026, Indian Express reported citing Punjab Government's recent order on rationalizing of postings and sources in the government.
Meanwhile, mounting pressure is being exerted on the government to withdraw the order, it added, citing sources.
It said that Punjab’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has given clearance to the Education Department's proposal to ban deputations and cancel the existing orders. The decision aims at tackling the crisis of teaching staff in the border districts due to inequitable postings for "VIP teachers.
Due to the decision, 640 senior secondary teachers alone, mostly women, will be affected by the order, the report said, citing sources in the government.
"These teachers, who are on a deputation and currently serving in Mohali, Patiala, and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, will have to relieve duty by December 31 and go back to their original place of posting on January 1, 2026," a source is quoted as saying in the report.
It noted that most of the officials, teachers, and doctors originally posted in districts of Punjab bordering Pakistan get reposted in Mohali and the surrounding districts using their influence, which has led to a shortage of teaching staff in the border areas, prompting the government to make the move to address the grievances of those living there.
A functionary quoted in the report said, "These are mostly the spouses of IAS, IPS, and PCS officers, kin of politicians, who want to be currently near Chandigarh so that they can go back to their homes. Mostly, their children study in Chandigarh. When such "VIP teachers manage postings near Chandigarh, using their connections, the border area schools suffer. Nobody is willing to stay put there."
Citing sources, the report highlighted that Education Minister Harjot Bains had issued the orders; however, a lot of pressure was being exerted on the government to withdraw the order.
"Let us see if we can manage. Already, we have not allowed any deputation for the past few weeks. But cancelling the existing deputation orders will be a huge task," a government officer told The Indian Express.
It noted that CM Mann raised the issue of the teaching staff crisis in border districts in the Cabinet meeting on November 28. CM Mann had stated that the most significant grievances of people of border areas were that the teachers and doctors did not stay at their assigned schools. He said the people of the Tarn Taran Assembly, especially, raised the issue while he was campaigning for the by-election.
He had asked Chief Secretary KAP Sinha to form a committee to resolve the issue. He suggested a proposal of giving incentives to such doctors, teachers, and other government officers.
The report further noted that the transfers and postings to border areas in Punjab have been an issue in the state for decades. The issue existed during former chief minister Amarinder Singh's tenure. The then education secretary, Krishan Kumar, had formulated a policy of online transfers through an automatic queue.
The secretary had mandated that newly recruited teachers be posted in border districts. The system worked, the indian express report said, until he remained the secretary of the department. But once he moved out, the issue of the teaching staff crisis in border districts resurfaced.
(For more news apart from “Punjab Asks Govt ‘VIP Teachers' Near Chandigarh to Return to Original Postings in Border Districts from Jan 1," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
