Chandigarh (Punjab): There is soon going to be a hunt for Hindi teachers in Punjab as the Centre has given a green signal to appoint 1,168 Hindi teachers in its government schools.

The nod is a part of a centrally sponsored scheme to promote the teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states.

As a part of another scheme, recruitment of 40 Urdu teachers also figures out in the list of the Centre.

The Centre took the decision yesterday in the meeting of the state officials with that of the Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) after the director general, schools, Punjab, Mr. Krishen Kuamr had sent them the proposal.

"The scheme is totally supported by the Central government which means the Punjab Government will nowhere be responsible to contribute anything as salary to these teachers. Their salary would be taken care of from the funds given by the Centre," said a source.

During the meeting, the state government's proposal to upgrade 131 middle schools to matric under the Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyaan was also raised and the Centre has agreed to upgrade 70 this year while the rest of them in April 2010.

The cost of upgradation would involve Rs.61.5 lakh per school in terms of infrastructure, which will be borne by the Centre. An additional seven teachers for various subjects would also be required to be employed in each upgraded school.

The sources however added that apart from Punjab, six other states were also involved in the meeting with their proposals.

Kumar confirmed the status of the proposal and said that, "The official written permission from the Centre should take less than a fortnight to arrive after which we will advertise in newspapers to fill these posts."