Transfers processed, HRDD now plans recruitments to meet teacher shortage

WITH 136 PRIMARY REGULAR TEACHERS STILL REQUIRED AND WITH SLEW OF RETIREMENTS ON THE ANVIL, HRDD MOVES PROPOSAL FOR FRESH RECRUITMENTS


VISHNU NEOPANEY
GANGTOK, 21 May: In view of the acute shortage of teachers and for improving the delivery of education to students in rural areas the Human Resource and Development Department [HRDD] has transferred over 146 Primary Regular Teachers (PRTs), recorded as excess in East district, to the other three districts which have reported shortage. Even if all the transferred teachers abide by their transfer orders, the short-fall will not be completely met [although it would ease the situation substantially], and for this, the Department has already begun processing the hiring of more teachers, it is informed.
Secretary, HRDD, CS Rao, while speaking to NOW! today, informed that the department has worked out the number of excess teachers in East district and transferred them. He informed that 65 teachers each have been transferred to South and West districts, while 16 teachers have been transferred to North.
Interestingly, the transfer orders mention only the district and the actual placement will be arranged by the concerned district offices as per directions from the headquarters.
In all cases, transfers are issued on ‘first come, first go’ basis, as enumerated in the guidelines adopted by the Department in 2009. Under this clause, those teachers who report to the department first can choose the place of posting in the district they have been transferred to.
The Secretary stated that the transfers have been made strictly as per the 2009 guidelines “without any bias”. According to these guidelines, teachers who have served for more than five years in a particular school and only those below 50 years of age can be transferred. Recommendation of the head of school is also required in case of posting of excess teachers while consideration is made for married teachers to be posted in areas near their spouses.
At present, the department is running short of 282 Primary Regular Teachers- 136 in South, 127 in West and 19 in North and once these 146 excess teachers have been posted and transferred, at least the schools can run better, the Secretary said.
“The government wants to treat all students equally whether they are Gangtok-based or in remote areas of West district. There should not be any problem with teachers being transferred to remote areas and the department is hopeful that transferred teachers will cooperate with the decision of the government and department,” the Secretary stated.
Mr. Rao pointed out further that over the next two years, between 15-20 percent teachers will be retiring and the Department is planning to phase-out those shortages and has already floated a proposal with the Planning Department for new recruitments.
Meanwhile, the Secretary informs that the department will be appointing 157 Graduate Teachers (43 Science, 41 Mathematics and 75 Arts) within this week and that 70 percent of the newly recruited teachers have completed police verifications.