Erstwhile State Govt’s recommendations fail to yield results
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Mar 5: With Central Government discontinuing the scheme, the career of over 5000 employees working under Government of India’s much hyped Saakshar Bharat Mission (SBM), which is also called the Adult Skill Development Porgramme, is in total jeopardy.
According to sources, there is also a great confusion among the candidates who were engaged under the scheme over seven years back that they have never been given any notice or letter by the authorities that the scheme has been closed and their services disengaged. Instead the Government from time to time held high level meetings to make recommendations to Union Government for regularization of the services of these employees and continuation of the scheme.
Sources said the scheme was started way back in 2009 all over the country with a big bang by the then Union Government. Over 5000 unemployed youth were engaged under the scheme by the Government for educating the adult mostly women in the erstwhile J&K State.
As a follow up to the scheme in J&K the State Literacy Mission (SLM) was constituted and notified in 2010 to invite applications for the recruitment of Preraks (Panchayat coordinators), Block Coordinators, District Coordinators purely on merit basis at Panchayat, block and district levels, sources said. The appointments were made through proper procedure by the duly constituted committees, viz concerned DDCs, CEOs, DIETs and ZEOs level, sources added.
These employees for last six to seven years were working under the supervision of concerned DIET Principals, ZEOs and Headmasters under the scheme, which was framed to provide basic and continue education to the people with a special focus on female folk, sources said, adding the main objective of this ambitious scheme was to make country and erstwhile State of J&K a literate society where the illiteracy was a big concern for the Government.
Sources said after appointment of the youth under the scheme their services in addition to their legitimate duty were utilized for various purposes such as academic support in schools, booth level officers, CAPD duty, NAFSA duty, election duty etc over the years.
Sources said that after completion of six years service by getting various extensions from Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) the erstwhile State Government in J&K started a job policy in favour of SBM employees for which communications were made to several quarters vide No Edu/Plan-SE/618/2017-18 dated 5-09-2017 and directors of both the divisions and Joint Director SBM were asked to submit the necessary inputs in the matter for further appropriate action.
Accordingly, the Directors of both divisions of J&K forwarded the same to all Chief Education Officers vide letter no DSEK/PLG/SBM/352/IV dated 8/11/2017 and DSEJ/Gen/49800-09 dated 11-12-2017 for comprehensive report along with the comments, sources added.
They said that all the CEOs have furnished the report to the concerned directors and both the directors also submitted the files with the report of CEOs to the Secretary School Education vide No DSEK/Plg/SBM/352/IV dated 12-02-2018 and DSEJ. But the files since then are lying with Planning Department of School Education and their fate is unknown, sources added.
Sources said as the Saakshar Bharat Mission has not been granted further extension from March 31, 2018 due to which the future of these employees who gave precious seven years of their life to it has turned dark by both Union as well as the then State Governments. The Mission, which was launched in rest of the country in September 8, 2009 was started in J&K two years later in 2011, sources added.
It may be recalled that a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Advisor (G) to then Governor on April 4 last year regarding the reviewing of Saakshar Bharat Mission and after discussing the various aspects with regard to low literacy rate in J&K as per census of 2011, the Advisor to Governor had issued instructions to the officers concerned that a proposal should be sent to GoI for recruitment of the SBM under Samagra Shiksha.
Sources said following the directives of the Advisor, the School Education Department has sent a letter to State Project Director vide No Edu/Plan –SE/618/2017-18Pf dated 8-4-2019 urging him to prepare a detailed proposal for continuation of SBM under Samagra Shiksha. The State Coordinator of SBM was directed to provide the necessary feedback with regard to targets and achievements in this regard.
To frame the road map for securing the future of these employees a meeting was also convened in Civil Secretariat on April 2 last year by the then Advisor (G) to Governor which among other officers was attended by Special Secretary to Government School Education, Director School Education Kashmir, Director School Education Jammu, Director (Planning) School Education Department, State Project Director Samagra Shiksha J&K and State Coordinator SBM.
Even the respective Chief Education officers in the erstwhile State have also made strong recommendations for the regularization of these SBMs in Education Department.
Though the employees have pinned high hopes in the Government regarding regularization of their services, it (Government) till date has failed to take a concrete decision in this regard.
However, when contacted Dr Arun Kumar Manhas Project Director Samagra Shiksha and SBM told Excelsior that the Government of India has stopped the adult literacy programme in 2017 and the 5000 motivators engaged under the scheme have become idle since then. He said the arrears have been paid to them and 2018 was the cut of date. He said the workers have been left with no option but to leave after the scheme was closed by MHRD.
He said there can be many reasons before MHRD for not continuing the scheme including that Government did not get encouraging results.
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