The Punjab Government’s much-publicised “Mega PTM” has come under criticism from teachers’ organisations, which have alleged that the exercise was used more as a platform to showcase government achievements than to address students’ academic concerns.The controversy erupted after students in several government schools were reportedly given holiday homework along with pamphlets highlighting the achievements of the Bhagwant Mann government and polybags carrying the Chief Minister’s photograph. Large banners featuring Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains were also displayed prominently at schools during the Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM).The pamphlets distributed among students listed a series of achievements claimed by the government in the education sector. These included the establishment of Schools of Eminence, construction of over 12,000 classrooms, recruitment of more than 12,000 teachers, foreign training exposure for teachers, free bus travel for students in government schools and infrastructure upgrades in educational institutions. The material also highlighted the government’s efforts in improving school facilities and examination performance.However, teacher unions questioned the timing and purpose of the exercise.Rupinder Gill, General Secretary of the Democratic Teachers Front, Ludhiana, alleged that the PTM appeared to be more of a publicity campaign than an academic interaction between parents and teachers.“Students were handed government publicity material along with their holiday homework. Such large banners carrying photographs of political leaders have never been seen in schools on this scale before. The PTM should focus on students’ learning outcomes and academic progress, not political promotion,” Gill said.He further claimed that the exercise had little relevance for most students, particularly as the academic session had effectively ended and there were no recent exams held in May for which results could be shared with parents.According to teachers, students of Classes I to III were given homework booklets covering English, Punjabi and Mathematics, while students of Classes IV and V received assignments in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Mathematics. Each booklet reportedly consisted of around 20 pages of subject-wise exercises meant for the summer vacation.In senior secondary schools, students of Classes VI to VIII were provided worksheets under the government’s “Mission Samrath” programme, while students of Classes IX to XII were given school-prepared assignment sheets. Union leaders said the homework could have been distributed through regular school channels and did not require a state-wide Mega PTM accompanied by extensive publicity material.Teacher leaders requesting anonymity also pointed out that a large number of teachers had been engaged in non-teaching assignments for the past several weeks. According to them, many teachers are currently involved in Census-related work and the government’s anti-drug survey campaign.“Teachers have been on Census and drug survey duties for nearly a month. In many schools, only a small fraction of the staff is available. When teachers are already burdened with multiple non-academic assignments, the purpose of organising such a massive PTM becomes questionable as for a whole month, teachers were not available with students. So on what basis will they review their academic performance,” a union representative said.