Harsimrat Kaur Badal Slams AAP Government Over Alleged Use of Teachers for Welfare Scheme Publicity

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal has strongly criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, alleging that schoolteachers are being pressured to record video testimonials from parents about government welfare schemes during the statewide Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM).

In a post on social media platform X, Badal termed the alleged practice “absolutely unacceptable” and accused the government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, of using teachers for political publicity at the expense of their core educational responsibilities.

Badal claimed that teachers had been directed to record video testimonials from parents highlighting the benefits of government welfare schemes. She further alleged that each school had been assigned a mandatory target of 10 video clips, raising concerns about additional administrative pressure on teachers.

Questions Raised Over Teachers’ Responsibilities

The Akali Dal leader also alleged that teachers had previously been tasked with conducting surveys and census-related work, and that recording video testimonials was adding to their workload.

Questioning the government’s priorities, Badal said teachers should be allowed to concentrate on teaching rather than being burdened with activities related to promoting government schemes.

Seeks Intervention from Centre

Badal urged the Union Ministry of Education and the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) to intervene in the matter. She called for an end to what she described as the AAP government’s publicity-related assignments involving teachers and parents.

Her remarks have intensified the political debate over the conduct of the statewide PTM programme and the alleged use of educational institutions for government publicity.

Note: The allegations regarding mandatory video targets and teachers’ assignments are based on Badal’s social media statement and have not been independently verified.