Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Mar 23: On the direction of Education Minister Altaf Bukhari, the controversial Government order regarding screening test for promotion of the teachers having degrees through Distance Mode, has been kept in abeyance till further order.
The abeyance order, which was issued today by the Principal Secretary to Government, School Education Department, is all set to immediately benefit a number of teachers, who were dropped from the recently released promotion and adjustment list because of their Distance mode degrees, even from Jammu University and other recognized Universities.
“The Government Order No.66-Edu of 2017, dated 16-02-2017, issued under endorsement No.Edu/V/50/2016, dated 16-02-2017, is hereby kept in abeyance, till further orders,” says the order number 140-Edu of 2017, dated 23-03-2017.
Pertinent to mention that order number 66 of the Education Department, issued last month, quoted that teachers who have completed their eligibility degrees from Distance education mode, are required to appear for a written test to seek promotions in their job.
Within days of issuing this order, the Directorate of School Education Jammu had issued adjustment order of the newly promoted Masters, whose DPC was cleared in 2014. However, in the list, only 368 teachers were promoted while 572 others, who had Distance mode degrees from Jammu University and other recognized universities, were dropped for screening test. In the last week, the Directorate of School Education Jammu had dropped nine more teachers from the latest promotion list after their degrees were found to be from the Directorate of Distance Education, Jammu University.
Alleging that the said order was discriminatory in nature, almost all the unions of teaching community, including Aggrieved Teachers Assoc-iation, JKTF, AJKLTF and others were up in arms against the said order and they were approaching the School Education authorities, particularly the Education Minister Altaf Bukhari, who had assured to look into this issue.
The Associations were of the opinion that order number 66 was null and void in itself as it was based on clause-XI of order number 252 dated 30-5-2012, which in itself had been kept in abeyance by the Government and not implemented since then.
However, today’s Government order of keeping the controversial order in abeyance has provided much relief to the teaching community and promotion to those, who were dropped from the recently released adjustment list vide order number 137 DSEJ of 2017, dated 28-02-2017.
When contacted, Education Minister Altaf Bukhari told the Excelsior that the Order No.66-Edu of 2017, has been kept in abeyance in the interest of the teaching community, which had conveyed him its reservation against the said order.
“We want a positive change in the School Education Department where teachers as well as the students may fully concentrate on the studies and this is possible only when they are not worried about the issues, which un-necessarily agitate them,” he said and added that a number of reforms are being taken in the Education Department.
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