GUIDELINES VIOLATED TO FAVOUR BLUE EYED;Mocking SVO, DSE Jammu promotes, adjusts 368 Masters

VIVEK SHARMA
JAMMU: On the face of State Vigilance Organisation becoming pro-active against corrupt and illegal practices in various government departments, the Education Department has promoted 368 teachers as Masters in the Jammu Division, raising eye-brows among ‘deserving’ teachers.
Ignoring the guidelines set vide an order on February 28, 2017, the Directorate of School Education Jammu has promoted and adjusted 368 teachers, out of 1193, as Masters, which includes several distance mode B.Ed degree holders.
The aggrieved regular mode degree holders have lodged strong protest for being left out.
The Directorate of Education Jammu has been mired in controversy over illegal promotion of 1193 teachers in 2014, some of them ineligible and having fake degrees. These orders were, however, put in abeyance after expose by STATE TIMES. The State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) has already registered two FIRs in 2014 against two IAS officers, Joint Directors, Chief Education Officers (CEOs) and others for promoting several fake degree holders despite lack of vacancies.
The latest promotion orders have not only granted legitimacy to fake degree holders and those appointed on the degrees attained through distant mode but also in violation of the standing guidelines.
Of the 368 promoted Masters, several teachers have qualified B.Ed through distance mode. However, the adjustment order categorically mentions that only those having qualified B.Ed on regular basis have been promoted and adjusted. After issuance of the order, some of the aggrieved teachers, having degrees through regular mode, pointed out the discrepancies and names of those having qualified B Ed through distance mode. Interestingly, those having regular degrees have been dropped.
Reason: Some junior staffers in the Directorate, who were involved in the preparation of controversial list of 1193 promotees in 2014, continue to remain posted in the establishment section. The aggrieved teachers allege that it is due to their active nexus, the list of 368 promotees has been issued two days back.
The order been issued at a time when the Post Graduate Teachers Association is demanding scrapping of the controversial promotion list of the 2014, which was issued despite no vacancies of Masters. The Association alleged that the adjustment of 368 teachers as Masters proves that the Education Department doesn’t care for the cases registered under two FIRs by the SVO.
Over a dozen teachers, having regular B.Ed degree, have been dropped while those with distance mode degrees have been adjusted. “This shows the level of irregularities at the level of the office of Directorate of Education, Jammu”, alleged the aggrieved teachers.It may be recalled that an 11-member SIT consisting of five Principals and six clerks was constituted by the Director School Education on 15th November, 2016. After three months of hectic exercise in the wake of Vigilance FIR and a case in High Court, the DSE had put off the exercise to adjust controversial promotees of 2014.
Some of the teachers, Radha Devi (S.NO 106 in the shelved promotion list), Khema Sharma (S.No 487), Archana Ganju (S.No 646), Rajesh Sharma (S.No 418) and Vinay Sharma (S.No 442) today lodged protests in the Directorate. However, no one listened to them.
“The Director refused to entertain our representation,” aggrieved teachers told STATE TIMES, adding “corruption has gripped the Education Department and teachers are becoming victims of bureaucrats and politically influenced administration.
In 2014, 1193 teachers were promoted as Masters which included 25 blue eyed who were adjusted the same year. Many of them posessed fake degrees yet the DSE Jammu remained mute. They (fake degree holders) are drawing higher grade salaries for the past over three years now, said Naresh Kumar, President of Post Graduate Teachers Association.
The fake degree holders from Rajouri-Poonch belt had managed their B.Ed degrees from non recognized universities.
After the Post Graduate Teachers Association President Naresh Kumar lodged a complaint, the SVO acted swiftly and registered cases against IAS officers and CEOs for gross ‘irregularities’.
“Now due to political intervention, the DSE has violated the Vigilance directives and issued promotion orders in favour of 368 teachers,” alleged the Association.
According to the Association, Vijay Kumar, Manpreet Kour, Vijay Sharma, Gita Sharma Jayanti Sharma and Rakesh Kumar and many others, holding degrees on distance mode, have been slotted in the promotion/adjustment list issued by DSE, Jammu.