Chandigarh: In a setback to inclusive education volunteers (IEVs), Punjab govt has rejected their demand for pay parity with similarly placed employees, higher remuneration and regularisation, holding that their duties and prescribed qualifications differ from those of teachers they sought to be equated with.The decision was taken by the secretary, school education, following directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court on a petition by IEVs, also known as inclusive education assistant teachers (IEATs). They had challenged their fixed remuneration of Rs 15,000 a month and sought the minimum pay scale of pre-primary teachers, which is Rs 10,300-Rs 34,800 plus Rs 3,200 grade pay.The petitioners had relied on a 2017 Supreme Court judgment on minimum pay and also sought regularisation and benefits under a March 7, 2025 Supreme Court order. The high court had directed the department to consider and decide their legal notice.Rejecting the claims, the department said IEVs were engaged under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and primarily handled home-based education, surveys, community rehabilitation and support for children with special needs (CWSN), rather than classroom teaching.The prescribed minimum qualification for IEVs is Class XII with a certificate course in inclusive education, such as a foundation or caregiver course, the department said.It noted that IEVs were covered under the Oct 7, 2022 policy for adhoc, contractual and temporary teachers and other employees in the school education department. Under the policy, their services were protected up to the age of 58 and remuneration was fixed at Rs 15,000 a month with finance department approval.The department said remuneration was determined by the post for which an employee was appointed, not by higher qualifications acquired later. It also said cadres drawing higher salaries had higher prescribed qualifications and materially different duties.The department distinguished IEVs from inclusive education resource teachers (IERTs), whose primary role involves classroom teaching and who are governed by different eligibility and recruitment norms. It held that IEVs could not be equated with IERTs and that Rs 15,000 remuneration was appropriate to their prescribed qualifications and duties.The order also recorded that IEV remuneration had risen from Rs 1,000 at the time of their initial engagement to Rs 5,500 and eventually Rs 15,000 under the 2022 policy and subsequent finance department approval.
