Nearly one-third of the District Education Officer (DEO) posts in Punjab are lying vacant, affecting the administration of school education in several districts, the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) alleged on Thursday.According to a report prepared by DTF, seven of the 23 posts of DEO (Secondary) and seven of the 23 posts of DEO (Elementary) remain unfilled. This accounts for 14 vacancies out of a total of 46 posts in the two cadres — more than 30 per cent. In addition, 13 posts of Assistant District Education Officers are also vacant.Education Minister Harjot Bains did not respond to calls seeking his comment.DTF state president Vikram Dev Singh and general secretary Mahinder Kaurianwali said three of the four key district-level posts are vacant in Hoshiarpur and Tarn Taran. Two posts each are vacant in Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Fazilka, while one post each remains unfilled in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Ludhiana, Mansa and Barnala.The leaders pointed out that Malerkotla, which was carved out as a separate district more than five years ago, still does not have sanctioned posts of DEO. As a result, the education administration of the district continues to be managed through additional charges given to DEOs of Sangrur and principals posted in Malerkotla.Each district has one post each of DEO (Secondary), DEO (Elementary), Deputy DEO (Secondary) and Deputy DEO (Elementary).DTF said more than 110 of the 228 Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) posts in the state are vacant. Notably, all 11 blocks in Rupnagar district, the home district of the Education Minister, are functioning without BPEOs. Nearly 1,100 posts of principal — over 56 per cent of the sanctioned strength — are also lying vacant across Punjab.