23 September 2026 Punjab Khabarnama Bureau : Several government school teachers in Punjab have been served notices for failing to report for Smart Ration Card verification duties, despite the Education Department maintaining that district officials had been asked to spare teachers from the assignment.
The notices have been issued in districts including Ludhiana, Amritsar and Barnala, adding to growing tensions over the repeated deployment of teachers for non-academic government work.
314 Teachers Get Notices in Ludhiana
In Ludhiana alone, as many as 314 teachers were reportedly served notices after they failed to attend a special training session on September 11 related to the ration-card verification exercise.
Teachers have questioned the notices, saying they were already handling several government assignments alongside their regular classroom responsibilities.
Barnala Teachers Also Face Action
Teachers posted in areas including Tapa, Bhadaur, Talwandi, Bhotna, Tinkone Bhadaur and Badra in Barnala district have also received notices.
A notice issued by the Tapa SDM office warned 11 teachers that strict action could follow if they failed to submit verification work. Teachers, however, said they had not received the work despite being asked to report for the assignment.
Education Officials Say Teachers Should Be Spared
The issue has created confusion among teachers because senior Education Department officials have reportedly told District Education Officers to pursue the matter with district administrations and seek exemption for teachers.
A senior Education Department official said teachers were already overburdened and that other departments should be used for ration-card verification work.
Government Had Earlier Agreed to Spare Teachers
The latest notices come after the Punjab government had indicated that teachers should be relieved of the ration-card verification assignment.
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains had said the government wanted teachers to be spared because they were already engaged in other duties, including the Special Intensive Revision and other administrative exercises. Deputy Commissioners were instructed to assign the ration-card work to employees from other departments.
Teachers Raise Concerns Over Non-Academic Duties
Teacher organisations have repeatedly objected to the growing number of non-teaching responsibilities assigned to government school staff.
Their list of additional duties includes Census work, Special Intensive Revision, drug surveys, anti-stubble-burning activities, local-body election duties, health-card work and flood-related responsibilities.
Teacher groups argue that repeated deployment for such work reduces the time available for classroom teaching, particularly during periods when schools are conducting examinations and other academic activities.
Ration Card Drive Linked to Meri Rasoi
The verification exercise is connected with the state’s new ration-card process under the Meri Rasoi scheme.
Earlier in September, hundreds of government teachers in Ludhiana were deployed for verifying applications for new ration cards. The administration had cited a shortage of staff as a reason for involving teachers in the exercise.
Teachers Had Announced Boycott of Non-Academic Work
The dispute escalated after an umbrella group of teacher organisations announced that teachers would focus on teaching and boycott non-essential non-academic assignments.
The unions said the increasing workload was affecting their ability to perform their primary responsibility of educating students.
Vacancies Add to Workload Concerns
The Education Department’s workload issue has also been linked to staff shortages.
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains had informed the Punjab Assembly that the state had 31,370 teacher vacancies, equivalent to roughly one-fourth of the sanctioned teaching strength. He had also written to the Chief Secretary seeking permanent exemption of teachers from non-teaching duties.
Questions Over Conflicting Instructions
The notices have highlighted a gap between instructions issued at different administrative levels.
While district authorities have taken action against some teachers for not joining the ration-card assignment, Education Department officials have maintained that efforts were being made to shift the work to other departments.
Teachers’ representatives have argued that a formal statewide order from the Chief Secretary is needed to remove uncertainty over whether they are required to perform the duty.