High-level committee to look into demands of Ad-hoc teachers

GANGTOK, 15 Apr: A high-level committee has been constituted by the state government to look into and examine the demands and grievances of the Ad-hoc teachers in the state and submit a comprehensive proposal. The committee has been constituted under the Human Resource Development Department and is chaired by the Principal Secretary, Home Department.

The ad-hoc teachers had placed some demands relating to their service condition in the Department to the HRDD. These demands and grievances of the ad-hoc teachers have been pending and lying unaddressed for quite a long time and at one time had become a hot political issue as well.

It is informed that these demands pertain to relaxation of recruitment rule to appoint them in regular establishment, relaxation of prescribed percentage for enrolment in B.Ed Certificate course duly taking into consideration their experience in ad-hoc service and adoption of 50% reservation in direct recruitment under Notification No.137/G/DOP, of 2008 as done for the (non teaching) employees of the State Government.

It has been ascertained by the government that the demands put forward by the ad-hoc teachers are to be examined within the ambit of the National Council for Teacher Education norms of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. In this regard it is informed that the recruitment criteria of teachers at Elementary level are prescribed under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and governed by National Council for Teacher Education guidelines.

The high level committee so set up by the HRD department is to submit a comprehensive proposal to the state government and, as part of its reference, will also examine the report submitted by the departmental committee constituted in October last year.

Other members of the committee include Secretaries, DoP and HRD department. The committee is to submit its report in two months.