SHAKEELA ANDRABI
SRINAGAR: A teacher is appointed for teaching purpose, but it is really surprising that till date hundreds of teachers prefer working in offices like clerks in place of rendering their duties in schools. Government gives handsome salary to teachers, but with help of higher authorities hundreds of teachers have managed their attachment in various offices in major cities like Jammu and Srinagar, where their own wards are enrolled. At present, thousands of Government Primary Schools across Jammu & Kashmir are functioning with a single teacher or lack of teaching staff, which is badly affecting performance of schools.
Recently, in a fresh official communication, the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) has once again asked Chief Education Officers (CEOs) and Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) to relieve all the teachers from their respective offices noting that various teachers have been retained in offices in violation of earlier issued Government orders. “There are clear cut orders from the administrative department not to utilise the services of teaching personnel in the offices to man the clerical job but surprisingly you have still retained a number of teachers in the offices in violation of government orders,” reads an official communique addressed to all CEOs of Kashmir division. The CEOs and ZEOs have been ‘once again’ asked to take appropriate action in the matter and ‘report compliance to the Directorate forth with.’
Notably, STATE TIMES has carried a series of stories on unnecessary attachment of teachers in offices for years together due to which schools face dearth of teaching staff thereby impacting academic performance of students. However, all instructions issued for detachment of teachers witnessed poor implementation on ground level. The CEOs and ZEOs delay in relieving the teaching staff from offices under pretext of one or another reason till the issues goes out of focus. It is really shocking that School Education Department (SED) is facing acute shortage of non-teaching staff in the district and zonal level offices, leading to deputation of teachers. A top official said there has been no re-organisation of non-teaching and ministerial staff in the department since 1989 ‘which led to the deputation of teachers to handle non-teaching jobs. “Various posts are vacant in office of Chief Education Officer (CEOs) and Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) which has now led to a crisis in department,” an official said. Over the years, the department has been deputing teachers to man non-teaching posts which continues to evoke widespread criticism. “We have no option but to continue with the practice. This is the only reason that teachers can be found doing clerical jobs. No doubt there are some instances where some blue-eyed teachers get adjusted in offices irrespective of their need but in most of the offices, there is a dearth of non-teaching staff,” the official said. Amid dearth of non-teaching staff in offices, the School Education Department, a few years ago, froze all posts of Junior Assistants to adjust SSA teachers as Grade-II and Grade-III teachers in department. Around 428 posts of Junior Assistants were frozen, which abstained appointment of around 300 candidates as Junior Assistants.