Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Apr 14: Total adhocism prevails in School Education Department with about 10,000 +2 principals, Zonal Education Officers, (ZEOs), lecturers etc waiting for regularization for over a decade now due to the callousness of the authorities at the helm of affairs for whom the Department has been a least priority.
According to sources, though education being the backbone of every progressive society in the world, in J&K the authorities failed to consider it a priority Department and they never bothered to give boost to the morale of teaching fraternity and instead run the Department through adhocism by putting it on crutches.
Sources said that there are about 10,000 posts of +2 Principals, ZEOs, ZEPOs, lecturers, Headmasters working as incharge officers for over a decade now. Though waiting for regularization and confirmation of these posts, it seems that the authorities at the helm of affairs are more interested in running the Department through inchargism as they have never taken pains in settling the regularization issue of these officers among whom many have retired and some have even passed away waiting for the day to come when the regularization order in their favour will be issued by the authorities.
Sources said with inchargism continuing in School Education Department, most of the officers have retired in their own pay and grade thus putting them in disadvantage i.e fixation of less pension for no fault of theirs. They get higher responsibilities and get displaced from their homes to remote areas like Nubra, Zanaskar, Leh, Kargil, Gurez,, Paddar, Wadwan, Bani Tangdar, Keran, Uri etc, sources added.
Sources said that no ZEO and Principal was regularized after 2008 while headmasters and lecturers were regularised up to 2012 and not later. The situation is so worst in the Department that recently 16 ZEOs were given additional charge in UT of J&K among them 15 in Kashmir valley while one in Jammu region as Department has failed to promote the officers on these vacant posts.
Sources said despite the posts falling vacant there is no mechanism of promotions to the higher positions so that the work in offices and educational institutions should not suffer. Such a sorry state of affairs has been result of failure on the part of successive Governments to formulate a concrete policy in this regard despite the repeated pleas of various teachers, lecturers and principal organizations from time to time, sources added.
The adhocism is to such an extent in the Department that the officers who are working as incharge principals in their own pay and grade by promoting them from post of lecturers and ZEOs have not been even regularised as ZEOs and lecturers till date, sources said. It may not be out of place to mention here that ZEO’s post is feeding cadre for 10+2 Principals like senior lecturers. Recently some lecturers in four subjects including Botany, Economics, Environment Sciences and Chemistry were cleared for regularization by the Department but there are about 25 subjects in and remaining subjects were left for unknown reasons, sources added.
They added that in 2018 the process of reuglarisation was taken by the Government through a Cabinet decision and SAC approval. Human Resources Management Cell was constituted for this purpose which is now fully functional. With constitution of the Cell some incharge joint directors, CEOs and lecturers of four subjects were regularized by the Administrative Department. But majority of the officers who have been working as incharge ZEOs, lecturers and Principals in their own pay and grade are still awaiting for regularization.
The Department has failed to convene the DPC for regularisation of principals for which confirmation of PSC is not needed, said Ram Parkash Principal + 2 Lecturers Forum. He added that about 500 Principals retired in their own pay and grade of lecturers and about 200 to 300 among them even passed away waiting for their regularization till their last breath but for their dismay these orders never came in their life time.
He said after serving 20 to 22 years, a lecturer is elevated as incharge Principal of Higher Secondary School but he fails to get regularization orders during his service period. “We have taken up the issue with higher authorities including Commissioner Secretary Education, Chief Secretary, Advisor concerned and Lt Governor also but nothing has been done except the false assurances, he added.
He said there are alone 1153 posts of Principals alone which are to be regularized while there are 188 ZEOs and like waiting for regularisation. In addition to this there are 1594 headmasters , 111 ZEPOs and hundreds of other officers in the Education Department sailing in the same boat.
Amarnath Thakur president +2 Lecturers Forum while expressing his concern over delaying tactics adopted by the Government in this regard said that several times the date for convening DPC was fixed but was later postponed due to certain reasons.
He said Commissioner Secretary whenever settles in the Department to sort out the issue, he gets transferred. This has happened on a number of occasions. Even recently Hirdesh Kumar, the outgoing Commissioner Secretary had promised to convene the DPC on March 17 but prior to that he was shifted from the Department. This has happened number of times earlier also, he added.
He aid the officers have submitted APRs, Vigilance clearance and other formalities have also been completed still the issue remained pending in the corridors of power.
When contacted Nasir Ahmed Wani Additional Secretary, Education Department said that the Government is on the job and soon the DPC will be convened to clear the regularisation cases of Principals, Lecturers and ZEOs etc.
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