Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 24: A day after getting the controversial Government order number 66-Edu of 2017 kept in abeyance, the Education Minister Altaf Bukhari today rolled out fresh initiatives to minimize disruption of academic activities and relief to the teaching community, including Rehbar-e-Talim, for more reforms in the School Education Department.
Talking to media persons, here today, Bukhari announced that the Government will no more deploy teachers for other than teaching assignments while their demands like removal of pay anomalies of Masters, regularization of Incharge Education Officers are under active consideration and being finalized shortly.
As far as Rehbar-e-Talim and Regularized ReTs are concerned, the Minister made it clear that the High Court order in this regard was misunderstood and screening test would be held of only those ReTs, who have secured their degrees from `tuck shops’ and their number was only around 400, out of 42 thousand total.
Further, he added, pending salary of the ReTs and Regularized ReTs will be cleared by next month as the MHRD has agreed to release the SSA funds and simultaneously the Government was also trying to evolve some mechanism with the Finance Department for finding out permanent solution in next few days for the regular salaries.
“The Government is also trying to work out some modalities on transfer policy of RReTs and our endeavor is to keep teachers nearby his residence but there can be no compromise on education to the students, who are our primary concern and the Government will be very harsh if there is staff shortage in rural and remote area schools,” he said and added that the capital cities can not accommodate all.
Pertinent to mention that the ReTs have been demanding transfer policy for them and revocation of the Government order on screening test of those who have secured degrees from Distance mode.
Announcing that the Education Department has decided to end the practice of using teachers for purposes other than teaching, the Minister informed that the Government will not deploy teachers for election duties in by-polls to the two Lok Sabha constituencies in Kashmir and the forthcoming local bodies’ polls in the State.
He disclosed that the instruction in this regard have been passed on to Divisional Commissioners in both Kashmir and Jammu regions. “Similarly, in the Municipal and Panchayat polls, which will follow the by-elections on two Parliamentary seats, the system of using teachers and education fraternity for election duties will end,” he added and further disclosed that NGOs would be engaged for looking after the Mid -Day Meal Scheme in the schools.
Announcing that the teachers will also not be used as supervisors of school building constructions or for accounting jobs, the Minister said that the Education Department is setting up an Engineering Wing for construction of school buildings and other facilities while accountants and financial consultants will be hired to prepare accounts of schools and educational institutions.
“We want to provide teachers congenial atmosphere and minimize disruption of academic activities. For this teachers should be allowed to concentrate on primary goal of imparting education and for that they should be relieved of all other duties,” said Altaf Bukhari, who was accompanied by MoS Education Priya Sethi and Principal Secretary School Education Department, Shalin Kabra, in the press conference.
The Education Minister also touched upon a range of other issues related to consolidation of infrastructure, private schools and free regulation, better sanitation in Government schools with provision for safe drinking water, power supply and other related facilities.
In response to a query, the Education Minister made it clear that the demand for regularization of Contractual Lecturers, who are agitating for the last one month, can not be considered as they were engaged purely on contractual basis.
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