The Education Minister, Harjot Singh Bains, announced on Saturday that the Punjab school education department has issued a show-cause notice to a private school in Jalandhar. This action was taken because it was brought to Mr. Bains’ attention that the school was not making Punjabi a mandatory subject for its students. He instructed the school education department officials to promptly issue a show-cause notice to address the issue while expressing concern over this matter.
The minister declared that the state government is dedicated to upholding the honor of the language, and any form of disrespect towards it, will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Taking the reference of a notification from the Department of Legal and Legislative Affairs of the state, and the Punjab Act-2008 on the Education of Punjabi and Other Languages, Mr. Bains said that it is compulsory for every school in the state to include Punjabi as a mandatory subject from the first to the tenth standard.
Despite this requirement, the minister pointed out that the department continues to receive complaints about some private schools in the state violating this act. He declared that strict actions will be taken against all offenders. He urged all private schools in Punjab to make sure that Punjabi is taught as a mandatory subject.
