Srinagar, Apr 14: Invoking the “deemed to be relieved” clause to send a stern message, the J&K Government has cracked a whip on the teachers who continue to be engaged in non-academic assignments in violation of rules.
The Principal Secretary School Education Department (SED) Bishwajit Kumar Singh issued an order to detach around 18 teachers and four non-teaching employees (Library and Laboratory assistants) who were “adjusted” in DSEK in violation of norms.
Ideally, the laboratory and library assistants are supposed to be posted in schools to take care of the library and different laboratories in the schools. But these employees were allowed to remain deployed in the directorate for unknown reasons.
Besides detaching the teachers from DSEK, the SED has also sought a clarification from Director School Education Kashmir Tasdauq Hussain Mir for allowing these teachers to continue in the directorate despite issuance of repeated orders for their detachment.
“The Director School Education Kashmir is requested to clarify as to why the teaching staff has been allowed to continue in the directorate despite issuance of directions in this regard,” the order reads.
The government in its order has said the teachers besides the laboratory and library assistants who are still continuing in the DSEK “shall be deemed to have been relieved with immediate effect.”
“The teachers, library and laboratory assistants are directed to join at their respective places of posting prior to their attachment in the directorate,” the order reads.
The detachment of teaching staff and other employees from the directorate is termed as a big move which has come after years of criticism from various stakeholders.
These teachers were handpicked from schools by the officers and were deployed in different sections of the directorate on the pretext of utilizing their services for academic-related activities. However, these teachers were mostly manning non-teaching assignments in place of the clerks in various sections.
These teachers were detached from the directorate in wake of the massive criticism received from different quarters against the Director School Education Kashmir for allowing them to continue in the directorate while leaving the schools teacher-deficient. “Government should strictly keep an eye on different sections of the directorate where teachers are hand-picked for their attachment in these sections,” an official said, wishing not to be named.
Following the detachment of teachers from the directorate, the teaching staff serving in schools has demanded relieving of cultural coordinators from districts and zonal level offices who continue serving there for years together.
“Government should also reshuffle the teachers, masters and lecturers in DIETs and J&K SCERT. The teaching staff in these institutes are enjoying prolonged stints in violation of government order,” a teacher said.
As already reported, the SED in early January this year invited online applications from the in-service officials and employees besides the teaching staff of the department to fill the vacancies in the SCERT.
The department advertised more than 160 posts of different categories to be filled at State Council of Education Research and Trainings (SCERT) by shifting in-service employees of the department for a fixed tenure.
However, the process was shelved for unknown reasons due to which the staff already posted in these institutes continued their stint, bringing much resentment against the department.
“It is unfortunate that SED has failed to streamline the posting of teaching staff in these institutes on merits. These institutes are hijacked by a few influential teachers which deflates the basic purpose of these institutes,” said a senior lecturer wishing not to be named.