AAP MLA cries foul over teacher shortage in Punjab; is suspended by party

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While Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann boasted that his government, in just four-and-a-half years, had delivered more development work than two decades of Congress and Akali rule, citing the transformation of government schools and Punjab’s rise to the top position in education, the same day, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana raised questions over these claims, though he is not the first party legislator to do so.

On Saturday (October 3, 2026), Maiserkhana, the AAP MLA from Maur constituency in Bathinda, Punjab, alleged that, despite his repeated requests, the State government had failed to address the shortage of teachers in certain government schools in his constituency.

The AAP suspended the primary membership of Mr. Maiserkhana with immediate effect over what it termed “anti-party activities and indiscipline”. The party said Mr. Maiserkhana had attempted to defame the party by making false statements regarding the functioning of a government school.

Disputing his party’s claims about achievements in school education under the AAP government in Punjab, the MLA alleged that the reality on the ground was quite different by expressing his concerns through a social media platform.

Mr. Maiserkhana, whose son is enrolled in a School of Eminence in Bathinda district and daughter at a government primary school, said that he had taken to social media after growing frustrated at being unable to get his grievance over the shortage of teachers resolved.

A visibly emotional Maiserkhana in his video said, “I am going live out of sadness. I kept demanding that teacher posts be filled, but it hasn’t happened yet... I have always worked for the betterment of the party... yet now they are sidelining and ignoring me, pushing me out of everything. Why? Simply because I am fighting for the schools, for my own children, and for the children of everyone who sends their kids to government schools.”

The MLA claimed that among the ruling party MLAs, he is the only MLA whose children study in a government school, and alleged that he knows he will be denied a ticket to contest the upcoming polls, but he will still continue to fight for people. He added that despite taking the grievance to the party high command, there was no resolution.

Notably, this is not the first instance of an AAP MLA raising questions about the AAP’s much-touted Schools of Eminence. In 2023, ahead of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to inaugurate Punjab’s first School of Eminence in Amritsar, the former IPS officer and Amritsar MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh had pointed out that the school in question was only ‘renovated’ and that it was made a smart school earlier by the previous governments. Later, in June 2025, Mr. Pratap Singh was suspended from the party for five years and accused of allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. Mr. Pratap Singh had remained critical of the government on various issues.

The AAP, meanwhile, dismissed the MLA’s charges regarding the School of Eminence at Ram Nagar in Bathinda. The party’s statement said, “The claim was completely contrary to the official record issued by the school principal on September 29, 2026. According to the record, the school has 30 sanctioned teaching posts, of which 25 are currently filled. The staff posted at the school includes one principal, seven lecturers, 15 teachers from the Master Cadre and two Computer Science teachers. The school currently has 580 students studying from Classes 6 to 12 across 19 sections.”

The opposition took the opportunity to hit out strongly at the AAP government. A senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader, Daljit Singh Cheema, said the hollowness of the government’s much-publicised ‘Sikhya Kranti’ has been exposed. “Mr. Maiserkhana’s questioning teacher shortages and the neglect of government schools and his suspension after raising these concerns speaks volumes,” he said.

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