Punjab Teachers Boycott Ration Card Duty, Government Relents Amidst Exam Chaos

Punjab's government school teachers have launched a full-scale boycott of ration card verification duties, sparking a fresh standoff with the state government. Over 1,300 educators from Patiala and Ludhiana alone were deployed for the task, leading to widespread protests by teacher unions who argue these non-academic assignments severely disrupt classroom teaching and student examinations. The move comes as schools are in the midst of mid-term exams, compounding the educational disruption. This isn't a new fight; teachers have long been 'burdened with non-academic tasks' such as population census, Special Intensive Revision (SIR), drug surveys, and health card assignments, despite Section 27 of the Right to Education Act explicitly limiting such duties. Earlier, in October 2025, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains had even issued a directive aiming to keep teachers in classrooms. However, the latest deployment for ration card verification, linked to the state's 'Meri Rasoi' scheme for distributing essential food items, pushed unions like the Samooh Adhyaapak Jathebandiyan and Democratic Teachers Front to their breaking point. In a significant turnaround, the Punjab government has reportedly caved to the pressure, instructing Deputy Commissioners to reassign ration card verification duties to other departments. While this offers immediate relief, the broader issue of teachers being pulled into non-teaching roles remains a persistent challenge for educational quality. Observers will be watching to see if this promise translates into long-term policy changes that truly free teachers to focus on their primary mission of educating students.