Government school teachers in the city are struggling to make ends meet with empty pockets. The teachers appointed under the Samagra Shiksha scheme have not received their salary for the last two months even as the season’s biggest festival, Diwali is on the weekend.

Members of the Chandigarh Teachers Association said that more than 1,000 junior basic teachers (JBT) and trained graduate teachers (TGT) working under Samagra Shiksha haven’t received their salaries for the months of September and October 2026.

In protest against the continued insensitivity treatment, the association has decided to take out a march with empty diyas to the office of the secretary education.

Apart from salary, the teachers have also not been paid the arrears of dearness allowance (DA) from 2021 to 2023, despite Punjab and Haryana high court order, the association added. The teachers alleged that even the DA due from January this year has not been released to them, though the same has been given to regular teachers of the education department.

The office bearers of the association, president Satnam Singh, senior vice president, Arvind Rana and general secretary Ajay Sharma said that they have informed the officials of Samagra Shiksha and education department a number of times in writing and verbally, but no result has come out.