*Cells being set-up to verify Distance Mode degrees
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 4: State Government has chalked out a strategy in order to arrest further deterioration in the education system and to provide quality education to the students. Under this mechanism, proficiency and screening tests of teachers and verification of degrees obtained by them through Distance Mode would be conducted so as to ensure that they are in a position to teach the students as per the present trends in the education sector.
The implementation of this strategy has began from the screening of Rehbar-e-Taleems (ReTs) as mode of their selection has come under scanner of State High Court, which has observed that many ReTs have obtained degrees from the “tuck shops” operating in and outside the State and unless this trend is checked the students would be relegated into the “dark cave of Plato”.
Though the strategy has even started receiving opposition from certain quarters, the Government is determined to go ahead with the process of initiating steps as the same are aimed at ensuring quality education, which as per the directions of the High Court, should be the priority of all those directly or indirectly associated with the stream of academics and education.
In the landmark judgment delivered in the recent past, Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar had directed the Education Department to constitute a committee to look into the hazards, which the fake degrees must have caused to the society and find out all such degrees/certificates issued in favour of such candidates, who stand selected as ReTs/teachers. High Court even asked this class of teachers to sit in a screening test to ascertain as to whether they are in a position to teach the students.
“The screening test of the ReTs is imperative as their selection process limits the competition for being habitation specific and the selection criteria only considers the degrees (qualification) and no other aspect”, sources said, adding “it would not be imprudent if this process is described as election instead of selection”.
Moreover, challenging or opposing the screening test is unjustified in the light of the fact that for any service in the Government sector two or three rounds of tests are conducted. For any administrative service be it within Jammu and Kashmir or at national level, prelims, mains and interviews are conducted. Keeping these aspect in light screening of ReTs especially when glaring instances of fake degrees have come to the fore, is completely justified.
According to the decision taken by the Government, in the first instance all the ReTs/RReTs, who have obtained degrees from Study Centres/Distance Mode would be required to appear in the Screening Test. Moreover, at the time of engagement, the ReTs would be required to qualify the Screening Test. The Government has issued directions against approving any fresh panel of ReTs till a mechanism is put in place for conducting Screening Test for the ReTs. At the time of regularization, all ReTs will be required to qualify Screening Test.
Sources informed that State Institute of Education (SIE) will be the nodal agency for conducting the test and while framing the proposal, the SIE will keep in consideration the pattern of similar tests being conducted by other States. Moreover, a sub-committee of Principal SIE, Jammu, Principal SIE, Kashmir and an expert would devise syllabus and recommend qualification criteria in Screening Tests at different stages-pre-engagements, as ReTs, RReTs and as General Line Teachers.
About the verification of degrees obtained through Distance Mode by ReTs/Teachers, it has been decided that cells will be set-up at the level of Directorates for verification of such degrees in a period of two months and these cells will also furnish data to the SIE for conducting Screening Test.
In order to ascertain the hazards, which Distance Mode degrees have caused to the education system of the State, the Government will conduct sample survey of results obtained from different schools having teachers from various sources as also comparison of the level of qualification of the teachers. Similarly, the Government will compare results of Class 8th examinations and conduct State level assessment test in respect of SSA schools for Class 5th.
In response to a question, sources said that all such ReT/teachers, who fail in such Screening Test, would be removed from the services strictly as per the directions of the High Court after following principles of natural justice as same will be in the larger interests of student community and society.
Stating that engagement of ReTs in majority of cases was purely on political considerations, sources said that in a school in Kashmir valley ReTs were shown engaged since 2007 and this school was getting all the benefits like scholarships but during verification it came to the fore that this school had zero enrolment during the past several years and names of students reflected in its roll were actually studying in nearby private school.
It was due to lack of focus on the quality education that despite spending Rs 6000 crore annually in the education sector and despite having 1.40 lakh teachers, the Government schools have failed to make a mark on the merit lists in different examinations in comparison to private schools. Since the steps being initiated by the present dispensation are aimed at ensuring quality education to the students, all those associated with the stream of education must set-aside the personal benefits.
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