Punjab computer teachers DA hike: 181% to 221% for 6,507 PICTES staff

The Punjab government has raised the dearness allowance (DA) of 6,507 computer teachers working under the Punjab ICT Education Society (PICTES) by 40 percentage points, from 181% to 221%, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced on Saturday, 7 November 2026. In the same announcement, made as a Diwali measure, the state said it would regularise the services of 1,007 non-teaching employees working under Samagra Shiksha, the school education programme. The computer teachers teach information and communication technology in Punjab's government schools and have campaigned for years over their pay and service conditions.

Computer teachers are the backbone of digital learning in Punjab's government schools. They teach computer skills to students in government schools across the state. Their pay has been a sore point for years, because they are hired through a society rather than directly by the Education Department, which leaves them outside some of the pay revisions given to regular teachers.

A 40-point jump in DA is a large one-time rise for this group. Dearness allowance is paid as a percentage of basic pay to protect salaries against rising prices, so the gain grows with a teacher's basic salary. For the many computer teachers on modest basic pay, the extra money each month is significant in a year of high living costs.

The announcement does not end the teachers' dispute with the state. Their unions have long asked for DA arrears going back to 2021 and for their posts to be merged into the Education Department. The government's own estimate of about Rs 22,818 crore in DA and dearness relief arrears owed more widely, given to the High Court in a separate case, shows how large the state's pending pay bill is.

The regularisation of 1,007 Samagra Shiksha non-teaching staff is a second, separate gain for school workers. Regularisation generally brings job security and service benefits that contract staff do not have.

Peepals calculation: The 40-point rise lifts the DA rate by about 22% in relative terms (221 ÷ 181 ≈ 1.22). On the reported example of a Rs 15,000 basic salary, DA goes from Rs 27,150 (181% of 15,000) to Rs 33,150 (221% of 15,000), a rise of Rs 6,000 a month, or Rs 72,000 a year. The January 2025 increase was 33 points (148 to 181), so the two rises together add 73 points to the DA rate in under two years. Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: The 6,507 computer teachers should see higher monthly pay once the order is implemented, and 1,007 Samagra Shiksha non-teaching employees move towards regular service.

Long-term: The rise eases one grievance but leaves the bigger demands of arrears and merger with the Education Department open, so further talks or protests by teachers' unions remain possible.

Who is affected: Computer teachers and non-teaching staff in Punjab's government school system, the students they teach, and the state finance department, which has to fund the higher pay bill.

Questions and Answers