The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Employees Association on Tuesday held a gate rally at the board complex in protest against the government’s decision to put the financial burden of Punjab government’s free education schemes on the board and its failure to release the board’s outstanding amount of Rs 574.55 crore.Addressing the rally, General Secretary Paramjit Singh Benipal said, “The government does not provide any suitable financial grant to the board, while an amount of Rs 574.55 crore due to the board is pending with various government departments. The amount of fees for Scheduled Caste and Backward Class students of Class 10, recoverable from the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, is Rs 51.46 crore. The amount of fees for Scheduled Caste and Backward Class students of Class 12 from 2016, recoverable from the Education Department and the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, is Rs 13.14 crore.””The amount receivable from the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities for books supplied from 2020 to 2024 is Rs 229 crore. The amount receivable from the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan since 2011 is Rs 33.18 crore. The examination fees for Class 5 and Class 8 students from 2019, chargeable to the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), amount to Rs 187.43 crore.””The amount receivable as rent for six buildings is Rs 40.82 crore, while Rs 18.46 crore is receivable from the Director of School Education (Secondary) under seven EDS-38. The total amount receivable from the government is Rs 574.55 crore. How can the board function when the government owes it more than Rs 574 crore?”Senior Vice-President Gurcharan Singh Tarmala said, “The employees are not being paid their arrears of pay and commission, while the board’s residential complex is in a dilapidated condition. The families of employees living in the residential complex are facing inconvenience. The board does not have sufficient funds even to renovate the flats.”The protesters said the board is also suffering a financial loss of lakhs of rupees due to the recent government order to issue free certificates to the board under SIR. They said that if the government makes any service free, it should also bear the financial burden associated with it.The organisation said that educational institutions such as Panjab University, Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University are provided financial grants by the government from time to time. However, the Punjab School Education Board, which is directly associated with school education in Punjab, is neither being provided the required financial grant nor are its outstanding dues being released on time.