Govt teachers defy ban, give private tuitions in Pulwama

PULWAMA — Amid restrictions on private tuition of government teachers in Kashmir, the teachers are continuing tuition at private coaching centres in Pulwama.

As per reports of the news agency CNS, dozens of coaching centres including ‘PIE CLASSES’ are running in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district with government professors, associate professors, lecturers and teachers of the Higher Education Department working as faculty there.

Although some of these coaching centres are even registered with the Education Department, they are involved in gross violation of government guidelines.

The government imposed a blanket ban on private tuitions by teachers serving in government-run schools, saying it amounts to “moral turpitude” and is a serious violation of service conduct rules.”

The move came in the wake of the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 in J&K. The RTE Act 2009 became applicable in J&K in October 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution by the Government of India.

Sources told CNS that despite the government order, the assistant professors stationed in the government degree colleges in Pulwama disobey the orders of the Higher Education Department. Several government teachers are doing private tuitions in many villages of the district.

Though few unemployed educated youth are hired just to show that no in-service teacher is working there, most of the teachers are employed by the government.

Meanwhile, the civil society of Pulwama while justifying the government order said that since the rise in unemployment in the Valley over the last few years, the highly educated are in dire straits and are suffering due to unemployment. “They are forced to stumble. Therefore, if this initiative of the government encourages intelligent educated youth, then they welcome this initiative.”