Uttarakhand: Over 67% Principal Posts in Government Schools Are Vacant - The Wire

New Delhi: Data collected by the Uttarakhand state education department has shown that over 67% of the sanctioned principal posts are lying empty. These posts sanctioned by the secondary education department are empty, according to The Times of India, because of the lack of promotions in recent years.

Appointments for the principal’s post can only happen through a promotion, and no such promotions have occurred in the last four years. The newspaper quoted education department officials as saying that the “issue is currently sub judice”.

“We are working on addressing the issue of vacant principal posts by conducting internal reviews to appoint deserving teachers while simultaneously working towards resolving the seniority and promotion problem,” Bansidhar Tiwari, director general (education), told The Times of India.

According to the report, this problem of vacant principal positions has gone hand-in-hand with more contractual jobs and less regularisation in teaching positions.

“The ad-hoc teachers first approached the court in 2002 regarding regularisation and resolving of seniority issues, and when the decision was given in their favour, the commissioned teachers went to the tribunal. The orders were repeatedly challenged, and the petitioners went to the Supreme Court, which rejected their plea. After 20 years of legal battles, the department was instructed in April 2022 to pause all promotions for three months and finalise a seniority listing,” Ankit Joshi, a member of the State Council of Educational Research and Training, told the newspaper.

Joshi and other teachers have been wearing black armbands since April to protest delays from the government’s end.

“As long as this issue remains unresolved, promotions are on hold, which is why the appointment of principals is not taking place. Even if an acting principal is appointed, they lack signatory powers. They cannot make monetary decisions, not even basic ones regarding infrastructure repairs in schools. The teacher acting as the principal also has to manage the workload of two positions, which impacts their efficiency,” a teacher told The Times of India.

Adblock test (Why?)

Uttarakhand: Over 67% Principal Posts in Government Schools Are Vacant - The Wire
Read More