Ludhiana, Aug. 13 -- Government schools in Ludhiana have 28 vacancies among 154 sanctioned librarian posts, with the state government set to begin recruitment and issue an advertisement by the end of August, education minister Harjot Singh Bains said.

Bains made the announcement in the Punjab assembly while responding to a question by Jalalabad MLA Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy on vacancies in librarian posts in government schools. Across Punjab, 785 of the 1,860 sanctioned librarian posts are vacant, while 1,075 are filled, he said.

Teachers in Ludhiana, however, said the shortage was compounded by the diversion of existing librarians to duties outside their regular responsibilities. They said librarians posted in schools were frequently assign...