Mahendra Patial
Bharmour

On Sunday, primary educators from the Bharmour-Garola block organized a protest along the Mini Secretariat road, expressing their strong disapproval of a recent notification issued by the Himachal Pradesh Education Department regarding the cluster system. The demonstration concluded with a memorandum being presented to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu via the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Bharmour.

According to Block President Ramesh Chand Sharma, the Education Department released a new notification on September 23, 2025, which restructured the cluster system and transferred full administrative authority of primary education to school principals. This decision, he noted, contradicts a previous notification from February 13, 2024, which had limited cluster restructuring to resource sharing while maintaining administrative control with head teachers, central head teachers, and block elementary education officers for classes Nursery to 5.

The teachers' association contended that this new directive undermines the autonomy of the primary education system established in 1984. They pointed out that Himachal Pradesh achieved top rankings in last year's ASER report and secured second place nationally in the NAS Class 3 survey—successes attributed to the hard work of primary teachers rather than principals.

Educators cautioned that concentrating control under principals could burden a single administrative unit, potentially harming the quality of education. They also raised concerns that the roles of promoted head teachers and education officers would become ineffective, leading to confusion and dual administrative oversight for primary educators.

The memorandum further emphasized that the notification breaches commitments made by the Education Minister during a 43-day dialogue with the Himachal Pradesh Government Primary Teachers Association, where it was agreed that the primary education structure would remain intact even after the establishment of a new directorate.

The teachers appealed to the Chief Minister, recognized for his supportive stance towards employees, to withdraw the notification in favor of primary educators and the overall integrity of the education system.

Among those present at the rally were Bharmour Block President Ramesh Chand Sharma, Garola Block President Uttam Chand, and numerous teacher representatives from both blocks.