Badal's media adviser Harcharan Bains, who also attended the meeting, said: 'It was also decided that 590 new middle schools and 69 new primary schools would be constructed in various districts of Punjab in the current year. In addition 1,833 additional classrooms would be constructed this year.'

'To improve education in backward areas, 21 model schools and a similar number of girls' hostels would be constructed in educationally backward regions of the state,' said Bains.

State schools have welcomed the Punjab government's decision.

'We are facing a crunch of teachers for the last few years. There are many schools in our district where primary teachers are teaching higher classes that automatically meant poor results,' said a school principal in Mohali district, speaking on condition of anonymity.

'Now we hope that this mass recruitment will certainly solve this widespread problem in the government schools of Punjab,' he pointed out.