Ludhiana: The statewide strike and mass casual leave call given by govt employees on Wednesday impacted functioning of govt schools across Ludhiana, with many reporting severe staff shortages and disrupted daily routines.With govt school teachers, union leaders and employees working in govt colleges supporting the strike call, attendance among teaching and non-teaching staff remained low in several primary and senior secondary schools.Officials of various govt schools said a large number of employees applied for casual leave a day before the strike. Though schools remained open, routine functioning was affected in many institutions due to the absence of staff members.Dr Pardeep Kumar, principal, Govt Senior Secondary Smart School, PAU, said the impact was clearly visible in his school.“There were around 180 students in the school today, but nearly 80% of the staff was on casual leave in support of the statewide strike. In view of the situation, I personally took the responsibility of conducting classes today,” he said.A similar situation was reported from a govt primary school in Mangat-1 block, where only two teachers were available for duty.“Our school has six teachers but only two were present. The others were either on SIR duty or on casual leave in support of the strike. We managed somehow but daily routine was affected,” said a teacher at the school.However, the impact was not uniform across all institutions. At a PM Shri Government Senior Secondary School in the district, the school head said attendance remained largely normal.“Staff members who were on govt duty were not available. Apart from a few employees on casual leave, the remaining staff reported for duty and regular school activities continued as scheduled,” the school head said.Education department officials acknowledged that the strike had affected schools but maintained that teaching activities continued in most institutions.Amandeep Singh, deputy district education officer (DEO), said around half of the staff strength was present in schools located in urban areas, while absenteeism was relatively higher in some rural schools.“The impact of casual leave by govt employees was visible in schools, but in almost all, around 50% of the staff was present. Some schools in rural areas may have experienced a higher number of staff on leave,” he said.He added that student attendance was also lower than usual in a number of schools. “In some schools, the number of students present was lower than normal, which also reflected the impact of the strike,” he said.
