Chandigarh, Nov 9 (IANS): Expressing concern over disregard for Punjabi in private schools, the Global Sikh Council (GSC) on Thursday condemned the neglect of Punjabi teaching in Punjab.

In a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, GSC president Kanwaljit Kaur and secretary Harsarn Singh urged him to take urgent action to enforce mandatory monthly inspections and reporting by all district education officers (DEOs) and district languages officers (DLOs) on imparting and usage of Punjabi education across all schools, especially those under private management.

They emphasised the need for proactive enforcement of the Punjabi Official Language (Amendment) Act of 2008 and the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages Act of 2008 in all educational institutions and state administrative offices.

The GSC also urged to the Chief Minister that schools and colleges violating language Acts should face various penalties for non-compliance and disregarding laid down the legal provisions.

Expressing concern over religiously motivated attacks on Punjabi language and Sikh religious identity in the state, the GSC condemned police actions against those protesting the imposition of Hindi over Punjabi, especially at a private school in Rampura Phul in Bathinda district.