The School Education Department has ordered promotion of Masters and Teachers as in-charge lecturers allegedly in violation of rules.
Greater Kashmir received several emails and phone callsalleging “fraud” in the promotions.
According to aggrieved Masters, Lecturers and Teachers,those who have been promoted have obtained their PG degrees during servicesthrough distance and regular mode from outside state universities. “They havebeen preferred to those who have entered the department as post graduatecandidates.”
They said the “lacunas” were observed by verification teamsfrom DSEK and DSEJ which stands mentioned in tentative seniority lists.However, these candidates, whose degrees were allegedly questionable, have beenpromoted as in-charge lecturers.
“During the verification of their degrees, it wasestablished that scores of in-service Masters have obtained their degreesthrough distance and regular mode without taking permission from thedepartment. They have not maintained the leave record on their service booksfor the same period,” a group of aggrieved Lecturers and Masters told GreaterKashmir.
Already, the government order number 940 of 2017 issued byEducation Department prohibits Teachers and Masters from obtaining degreeswithout prior permission and without marking leaves in their service books.
“Many masters and teachers have violated the departmentrules in Kashmir as well as in Jammu division. Ironically, all of them havebeen promoted to the post of lecturer by the department,” the teachers said.
Earlier in 2017, the issue was referred to GeneralAdministration Department (GAD) for its remarks to authenticate the degreesobtained from study centres of outside state universities.
As per the government order 940 of school educationdepartment issued in 2017, the GAD had advised the department to devise adepartment-specific mechanism as envisaged in government order number 252-HE of2012, dated May 30 of 2012.
The education department had set certain conditions forverification and authentication of the degrees obtained from study centres ofoutside state universities.
“Masters who have got PG degrees from IGNOU and MANUUwithout doing bridge course have been given the benefit of promotion while aspeople who enter department as PGs from reputed state universities have beenleft high and dry,” the aggrieved teachers said.
Meanwhile, a top source in the department alleged that theauthorities have cleared the promotions in haste in order to provide the staffin recently upgraded high schools to the level of higher secondary schools.Director school education Kashmir (DSEK) Muhammad Younis Malik was notavailable for his comment.