Ludhiana teachers’ unions oppose mandatory health scheme

Ludhiana: The Punjab education department has issued a directive to all block nodal officers (BNOs), block primary education officers (BPEOs), and school heads to ensure the immediate registration of all teaching and non-teaching staff under the ‘Mukh Mantri's Sehat Beema Yojna'. Staff members have been instructed to provide their Aadhaar and voter ID cards during the process, with school heads held fully responsible for implementing the orders and submitting reports to the district education officer (Secondary).However, the mandatory nature of this order has met with significant pushback from teachers' unions. Rupinder Pal Gill, district general secretary of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), expressed concerns over the lack of personal choice. "The recent order has been directed to all government and aided school staff, but they should be given a choice between choosing the health policy or not," Gill said. He noted that many employees are already paying premiums for private health insurance and argued that even if the government policy is free of cost, registration should remain optional rather than a direct order.
Practical hurdles have also been reported by staff attempting to comply with the notification. One government school teacher shared that upon visiting a designated registration camp listed in the notification, they were informed that all family members must also be physically present with their respective identification documents to complete the process.The teachers' union has formally requested that the authorities provide an open choice to the staff, allowing only those who want or need the coverage to register. Despite the brewing dissatisfaction and questions regarding the registration logistics, Ludhiana district education officer (DEO) Dimple Madaan was not available for comment.