Distressed SSA teachers rue government indifference over regularisation of services

Regularisation of services of thousands of SSA teachers is lingering for last four months as the committee entrusted to examine their demand failed to submit its report within the stipulated one month.

On December 25 last year, government extended tenure of thecommittee by one month and entrusted it to examine the issue of undergraduateteachers for regularisation in the education department.

   

The committee had earlier recommended that services of SSAteachers with graduation as their minimum qualification should be regularised.

“The committee was supposed to complete the process in onemonth, but the government is indecisive over it despite the passage of over 45days,” said Ishtiyaq Ahmad, an undergraduate SSA teacher who has been workingin the education department for 12 years.

Around 7700 undergraduate teachers have been left out by thegovernor’s administration after it issued formal orders for regularisation ofgraduate SSA teachers, identification of permanent posts for RMSA masters andhead-teachers.

“There has been no statement from the department aboutregularisation of undergraduate teachers so we apprehend that they have shelvedthe process,” Ahmad said.

A group of undergraduate teachers questioned thegovernment’s lethargic approach, saying there was no justification for denyingthem the benefits given to the graduate teachers.

“We have been serving in schools for 15 years. We haverendered our services during elections; have worked as BLOs (Block levelofficers). But now government is delaying our regularisation because of therider that we don’t possess graduation degrees,” said one among the group ofthe aggrieved SSA teachers.

Earlier, the State Administrative Council (SAC) approvedcreation of teacher grade-II cadre from September 2018 in the school educationdepartment for filling up these posts by regularised Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT)teachers with a graduate degree from a recognised university.

“A huge chunk of undergraduate teachers have crossed the agebar of 50 and now the government wants us to first complete three years’graduation to become eligible for our regularisation,” said Bilal Shah, ateacher from Kupwara.

“All of us have registered for D.Ed course through thedepartment. The course will be completed in coming months. Most of us havecompleted the D.Ed course as well. Government should not delay our regularisationnow,” another teacher said.

The teachers said the delay in regularisation of theirservices has adversely affected their families as they have also not been paidsalary for many months now.

“There is not a single word from the government on our regularisationprocess. We even don’t know on what parameters they are dealing with ourcases,” said a teacher with undergraduate credentials.

Secretary school education department, Sarita Chauhan, saiddiscussions were ongoing in the committee about how the issue could beresolved.

“A decision has to be taken by the committee for which weare looking into all the aspects. Definitely something will be found out.Teachers should acknowledge that nobody is denying them regularisation but weare working on it,” Chauhan said.

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