Govt initiative to post ‘promising’ staff in DIETs, SIE shelved

The much hyped initiative taken by the school education department to post only “promising human resource” in the district institutes of education and training (DIETs) and state institute of education (SIE) Kashmir has been shelved.

In June last year, an order issued by then director schooleducation Kashmir stated that the teachers, masters and lecturers should submitapplications in a given format to the directorate for their posting in theDIETs and the SIE.

   

The order was issued following the massive outcry over the”selective postings” of some masters and lecturers by the department in thesepremier institutes for prolonged periods, in violation of norms.

The SIE and the DIETs are the premier institutes forcontinuous teacher professional development which directly or indirectlyimpacts school improvement programme. The effectiveness of the SIE and the DIEThas a bearing on the achievement levels of the children and performances ofteachers.

“In order to make the SIE and the DIETs strong, thepromising human resource needs to be posted in the SIE and the DIETs,” readsthe order issued in June last year.

“It was decided to make the posting in the DIETs and theSIEs on basis of merit and experience so as to ensure that the right teachersand teacher educators are posted in these academic institutes,” an officialsaid.

However the initiative remained confined to only paperswhile the influential lot continue to be posted in DIETs and SIE for more thanfive years against the recommended tenure of two years.

Greater Kashmir has carried a series of stories about theflawed posting of teaching faculty in these institutes which hamper thefunctioning of schools due to dearth of teachers.

Amid the criticism for posting selected teachers in DIETsand SIE, the department last year decided to scrutinise the qualification ofteachers and assess their ability in conducting research workshop and teachertraining.

“It was decided that the faculty will be deputed to theseinstitutes for a fixed tenure of two to three years on basis of theirqualification and expertise,” an official said.

Those who are presently posted in these institutes were alsodirected to submit their documents in a prescribed format for their posting inthese institutes.

“The posting of influential teaching staff in DIETs and SIEhas created a divide among the teaching community which is telling upon theacademic scenario in schools,” an official said.

Over the years, the department has been issuing suspensionorder of teachers who produce poor results in class 10th and 12th class exams.However the department is yet to adopt any mechanism to check the ability ofthe teachers and lectures posted in these institutes.

“There are different yard sticks to evaluate teachers. Thoseposted in schools are punished for producing poor results in exams and getsuspended but the influential lot enjoys prolonged stint without any check fromthe department,” an official said.

Director school education Kashmir, Muhammad Younis Malik,didn’t respond to repeated phone calls from this newspaper.

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