Balwant Garg
Faridkot, March 30
To generate more revenue from about 520 acres owned by 105 government schools across the state, the Education Department has asked all these school managements to invite more and more tillers during the open auctioning of land for annual lease.
As per the department’s orders, the school managements have been asked to ensure there is a growth of minimum 5 per cent while giving the land on lease for the crop season from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023.
While the department has directed the school authorities to deposit the lease money in its account without any delay, many of these schools want to use the money, as in most cases the land has been donated by the panchayats or religious institutions to these individual schools.
While leasing out the land for agriculture purpose, the school managements have been asked to get an undertaking from the tillers that they would not burn the crop residue or stubble after the harvest.
Most of this land is with senior secondary schools and it generates about Rs 2.5 crore as annual revenue.
While many of these schools impart training to its student where they have agriculture as subject, but in where the posts of agriculture teacher are lying vacant, the land is leased out to private tillers.
There are about 88 agriculture subject teachers in the state. In Faridkot, government senior secondary schools at Sandhwan, Dhudi, Sher Singh Wala, Matta, Hari Nau and Baja Khana have agriculture land, but there are only three subject teachers in the district, said Prem Chawla, a senior functionary of Punjab Government School Teachers’ Union said.
Union president Surinder Kumar Puari said the income generated from the land of a school should be used for the development of that particular school, instead of depositing in the state coffer.
Rs2.5 cr generated annually
- Most of the land that can be used for agricultural purposes is with senior secondary schools and it generates about Rs2.5 crore as annual revenue
- While many of these schools impart training to students where they have agriculture as subject, the land is leased out to private tillers whereever the posts of agriculture teacher are lying vacant
Punjab Education Department eyes revenue from school land
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