Make this your homepage
Tripura News
Home > Tripura News
CPI-M's Assembly Poll Politics ! Vacancies of 13000 posts ? Teaching experience for non-teaching posts ? How far is it valid ? Is Manik again misleading Tripura to a massive administrative crisis
Amitabha Sengupta May 19, 2017
CPI-M's Assembly Poll Politics ! Vacancies of 13000 posts ? Teaching experience for non-teaching posts ? How far is it valid ? Is Manik  again misleading Tripura to a massive administrative crisis
PHOTO : TIWN

AGARTALA, May 19 (TIWN): Purely with a political intention Manik Sarkar led Left Front Govt's cabinet yesterday created 12000 posts in Education Department. This has been treated as a political lollypop by the LF Govt simply to defuse the 10323 terminated teachers from taking any legal action against the state govt demanding compensation. All the posts that were created yesterday were non-teaching posts as specifically clarified by Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty. The five categories under which these 12000 posts have been created are :-
1) Academic Counsellor
2) Students Counsellor
3) School Library Assistant
4) Hostel Warden
5) School Assistant
All these appointments, if indeed done, will be for performing non-teaching assignments and quite interestingly no where India any such posts exist nor the Union Human Resource Ministry has asked any state govt to recruit in these posts in order to implement the Right To Education Act 2009 properly.

Now to talk about the academic qualifications needed for these posts. In different private institutions academic counsellors or students counsellor are appointed but to get appointment a candidate must possess a bachelor's degree in areas such as counselling, education or psychology. When pursuing a school counselling career, one will most likely also be required to earn at least a master's degree in school counselling or education psychology. Before becoming licensed, an aspiring school counsellor will also usually need to complete a certain number of hours of supervised on the job training. But the state govt specified Post Graduate or Graduate degree  as required qualification along with 5 years teaching experience.

  For School Library Assistant state govt specified Graduate degree along with 5 years teaching experience as desired/required qualification. But the fact is that for such post at least Degree or Diploma in Library Science is essential.

 For Hostel Warden's post state cabinet set up Graduate Degree along with 5 years teaching experience as required qualification.

 And for School Assistant post required qualification as set up by state cabinet is H.S or Madhyamik Pass along with 3 years teaching experience.\  Quite interestingly even in the official press release also state govt clearly mentions the duties that these employees will perform. None of these employees will have to do the duty of teaching. So the govt's decision of teaching experience is itself ridiculous and illegal as well. It is worthy to mention that such posts are created simply to re-recruit the terminated 10323 teachers through back door. But even if the state govt recruits these teachers , their appointments will be declared illegal . The Supreme Court by upholding the High Court's judgement given on 7th May 2014 terminated the 10323 teachers jobs because of gross irregularities of NCTE Guidelines. The High Court clearly termed state govt recruitment policy as unconstitutional. So it is clear that all  the 10323 jobs are illegal. And the tenure of service that these employees served under state govt can never be treated as experience. As such the state govt's motive is absolutely clear that it has made these decision simply to save its face ahead of crucial 2018 Assembly Poll. And now this attempt of the state govt has already given speculations for legal procedure.

  It is learnt that a group of 10323 terminated teachers recently met with the senior lawyers of Tripura High Court with an object of filing a compensation claim of Rs 25 lakhs each as these jobs were terminated not for their fault but for the gross violation of NCTE guidelines done by the Govt of Tripura. These employees will soon meet again to discuss latest developments, a High Court source said.

  It is to be mentioned here that Justice Adarsh Kr Goel and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit of the Supreme Court in their order given while hearing the SLP filed by the state govt in the 10323 case categorically mentioned ," We do not find any ground to interfere with the impugned order. "

   The Division bench of the Highest Court of the Country also mentioned the following five points in the said order :-

"a) New Employment Policy should be framed by the state by 30th April 2017 if not already framed and advertisements for filling up the vacancies may be issued latest by 31st May 2017

b) The fresh selection process be completed on or before 31st December 2017 and till the fresh process is completed , the teachers already appointed shall continue

c) The candidates who participated in the selection process pursuant to the advertisements in question , whether selected or not, will be allowed to participate in the fresh selection process by relaxing their age but subject to their having necessary qualifications.

d) The qualifications in the case of teachers governed by provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 shall be in conformity with relevant statutory provisions of the said Act.

e) The qualifications of teachers employed for Class IX and above shall be strictly in compliance with the relevant provisions concerning such appointments. "

    Thus, it is clear that even if the state govt wants to give chance to the terminated teachers in any way, it should be under NCTE guidelines and the fresher's must be given a chance in the fresh recruitment process. But by Wednesday's decision state govt very cunningly tried to keep the fresher's away from this recruitment procedure and that is simply a violation of the order passed by the Apex Court of India. If someone from the freahers files a PIL in the High Court , the new recruitment policy ( in the 12000 posts) will straightway be declared null and void.  In this connection this correspondent had a chat with Senior Advocate of Agartala High Court Arun Chandra Bhowmik. Bhowmik categorically told this correspondent ," This decision of the state govt is absolutely illegal and purely a violation of the order of the Highest judiciary of the country. The attempt is nothing but another unconstitutional process taken keeping in view with the 2018 Assembly Poll, only for political reason so that none of the terminated teachers try to appear before the law against the state govt for their present situation."

  Arun Chandra Bhowmik while replying to a question of this correspondent informed ," I will file a petition in the Supreme Court against CPI-M Spokesman Gautam Das , who recently told media that the Supreme Court judges are influenced by RSS. This is nothing but an attempt of defamation on the Highest Judiciary of the country. Once the Supreme Court re-opens after the summer vacation I will immediately file the petition against him(Gautam Das) for lowering the Apex Court of the Country. I have collected documents of the print and electronic media regarding his statement .

 Bhowmik told TIWN ," After losing the case in the High Court state govt filed an SLP in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's judgement. The Supreme Court carefully examined the entire judgement of the High Court given on 7th May 2014 and the Apex Court found nothing to interfere with that judgement and thus upheld the said judgement. "

 He also said ," How the tenure of service of the employees, whose jobs have been declared as illegal by the court , be considered as experience is beyond my legal experience. It is utter foolish and the state govt is again heading for major legal crisis. No attempt can be made through back door by the ruling CPI-M to re-appoint the 10323 teachers . If any such step is taken by the state( as it apparently appears from Wednesday's decision) it will be a Hara-kiri." 

***Arun Chandra Bhowmik to lodge petition against Gautam Das for his statement against SC verdict in 10323 teachers' job.

Add your Comment
Comments (0)

Special Articles

Sanjay Majumder Sanjay Majumder
Anirban Mitra Anirban Mitra