Chandigarh, Oct. 14 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has come down heavily on the Punjab education department, chiding its senior officials for being "oblivious" to the condition of schools.

"Even in a welfare state, the state government must bear in mind that the younger generation of state of Punjab has to compete in global market in future and the education is not a consumer service," the bench of justice NS Shekhawat observed while seeking data on teachers' availability, classrooms and other related infrastructure in state's primary and middle schools.

The bench had come across two petitions, one challenging the decision of authorities in Amritsar not to relieve a teacher from a middle school despite his transfer order. Later, i...