40 govt schools to wait further for 120 new lecturer posts
UT had requested for creation of posts two years ago, MHRD returns proposal while seeking information
More than 20,000 students of 40 city government senior secondary schools will have to wait more for new teachers as the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has once again objected to the proposal sent by the education department to create new posts.
The proposal for the creation of new posts sent two years ago was returned by the MHRD last week citing clarifications.
Rubinderjit Singh Brar, director of school education, Chandigarh, said, “The Ministry of Human Resource Development has sought a clarification from us last week in this regard. We will furnish the requisite information next week.”
The UT administration had requested the posts of two principals and 120 lecturers for 40 government senior secondary schools.
UT education department officials said the directorate was expecting the clearance of the proposal of creation of posts as the Chandigarh senior secondary students will take up the international test, The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2021.
An official, requesting anonymity said, “With the current dearth of teachers, the UT education department cannot prepare well for the international assessment test.”
No new lecturer posts have been created in Chandigarh for the last two decades and more than a hundred posts are lying vacant in various schools.
A union leader, requesting anonymity said, “In last two decades, many middle and high schools were transformed into the senior secondary schools, but no new posts were created by the department.The schools are running dearth of teachers and the students are suffering,” he said.
“Many principals working as headmasters in various schools, while many trained graduate teachers have been promoted as lecturers,” he said.
The impact of the shortage of teachers was visible when the education department had to appoint junior basic teachers to teach the Class 11 students in evening shifts at Government Model Senior Secondary School , Sector 19, (GMSSS-19) and Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 23, (GMSSS-23) in September to accommodate students after the fifth counselling.
The department had issued directions to deploy 10 junior basic teachers which were later revoked.