Newly framed Services Act provides for accountability in cases where official business is not contracted in time or delay in taking a decision is contrived. The Act even goes to suggest punitive punishment in the shape of fine for dereliction of duty. The Chief Minister, in his address to the public, has repeatedly encouraged them to seek remedy to their complaints by invoking the Services Act. Obviously, he has been very transparent in desiring that people should get hassle-free administration as they deserve it. But the real question is whether such measures are taken seriously by the officialdom?
We have the case of 812 posts of lecturers in School Education sanctioned by the cabinet way back in 2011. Half of these posts were to be filled by promotion and the other half by fresh recruitment. Obviously when the figure 812 was proposed, much groundwork must have been done at departmental level to identify the vacancies region-wise, district-wise and subject-wise. It couldn’t be an exercise in the air. The Directorates of Education must have the complete record on the basis of which proposal for enrollment or promotion was made. But it is more than a year that no movement is witnessed at various levels of bureaucracy to forward the vacancies to the PSC for filling them in according with the norms laid down by the School Education Department. The concerned authorities want to take shelter behind the pretext that much time is needed for compiling details of promotional cases. It is strange that the department is making a lame excuse at this stage. Maybe there are vested interests or that there are other motives behind delaying the process of filling the vacancies. It is unjust and highly detrimental to the interests of the teachers who qualify the criterion and are expecting to be placed in promoted cadres. It is also highly detrimental to the fresh candidates who would have been selected for employment much earlier. And it is also detrimental to the student community in Higher Secondary Schools where there is paucity of teachers and students are forced to seek private tuition to make up the deficiency. It is a case of bureaucratic hurdles and lack of sense of responsibility.
We are reminded of a recent step of the State Government calling to account the Government teachers who do private teaching in private tuition centres. What right has the Government to call them to account if it willfully delays their promotion and other rights? If the Government wants to be just and equitable, it should avoid doing things that harm the interests of the teaching community. We hope that Education Minister will see to it that the vacant posts are sent to the PSC within days and the process of promotion/selection begins immediately.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel