ReTs racket

Appointment of teachers under Rehbar-e-Taleem scheme has come under the scanner of the State High Court. Serious doubts are expressed by the court about the fairness of selection of teachers under this scheme. It has doubted the genuineness of educational certificates of most of the teachers appointed under the scheme. The court has expressed concern about the quality of education and the results shown by these institutions. In the first place, the genuineness of the institutions from which the appointed teachers have obtained educational qualification certificates is doubtful. The court 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”. Secondly, the selection of teachers under the scheme is prejudiced and arbitrary so much so that the court has called it election not selection.
ReTs have been under scanner for a long time. It has given rise to so many doubts and scandalous rumours. It is generally believed that appointments in these institutions were made on political considerations or that political interference was widespread when selection of teachers was made. Even when in the past some officers tried to do some probing into various allegations, they were discouraged and the lid that covered its irregularities was never lifted.
Now, under censure from the High Court, the Government has decided to subject the ReT teachers to proficiency and screening tests of teachers and verification of degrees obtained by them. Proficiency test is necessitated by the poor performance of the students in comparison to performance by private schools. Though there has been resentment among some sections on the idea of Government’s policy of testing and screening, the strategy chalked out by the Government will have to be enforced under the directions of the court.