DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday gave a nod to fill 10,880 vacant posts in various cadres in the Education Department. Presiding over a meeting of various departments, the chief minister also directed for creation of posts of 2,000 physical education teachers in primary schools, according to an official release. Besides, he also discussed with the officials various issues of different unions and directed that the department may have discussions and after examining their demand may take up the matter with the finance department. Accepting a long-pending demand of around 1,000 headmasters and teachers recruited under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, the chief minister directed the finance department to release state share of salaries which were cut due to upper cap made by Government of India in 2016. It will cost around Rs 3.20 crore to the state exchequer. In another decision, Channi gave go ahead for the recruitment of 3,400 posts in the health department so as to further strengthen the healthcare mechanism. The chief minister also ordered that a proposal relating to the inclusion of Anganwadi and ASHA workers and other health workers in the Ayushman Bharat scheme be brought up in the cabinet meeting. He announced that he would shortly lay the foundation stones for medical colleges at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. The chief minister also announced that a new medical college will be set up in Sangrur with 100 per cent state funding. These new medical colleges will help in boosting medical education and research in the state, Channi said. Among those present in the meeting included Punjab Deputy Chief Minister O P Soni, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Medical Education Minister Raj Kumar Verka and Education Minister Pargat Singh. (editor@dailyworld.in)