SAC approves landmark decision to streamline J&K’s teaching cadre

Jammu: In a landmark decision aimed at streamlining the teaching cadre in Jammu & Kashmir, the State Administrative Council (SAC) under the chairmanship of Governor, Satya Pal Malik approved the Action Pan recommended by the Committee constituted vide Government Order No. 1263-GAD of 2018, Dated: 13-08-2018.

The Committee was mandated to devise a comprehensive strategy to review the issues of all school teachers in the School Education Department including those funded under the on-going Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ (SSA) and suggest possible solutions.

Over the years, School Education Department has been facing immense difficulties due to multiple cadres of teachers, requirement of additional funds to meet out salary of both SSA and RMSA teaching faculty and a host of other related issues, which were directly or indirectly impacting upon the quality of education in Government-run schools and leading to unavoidable chaos and confusion among the teaching fraternity.

To address the issue in its right perspective and humanely, the State Government constituted a Committee vide Government Order No. 1263-GAD of 2018, Dated: 13-08-2018.

The Committee submitted its recommendations in the form of an Action Plan to the Government. The SAC considered the departmental proposal based on the recommendations of the Committee and broadly accepted the Action Plan proposed by the Committee.

The SAC approved the creation of a separate cadre of teachers who will get the pay scale of Rs. 29200-92300 (L-5) 7th Pay Commission from 01-09-2018 in the School Education Department. These posts shall be filled up 100% by selection out of regularized Rehbar-e-Taleem Teachers (RReTs) with qualification “Graduate from any recognized University”. This cadre of teachers is created exclusively for the purpose of adjusting RReTs and will gradually get extinguished/abolished over a period of time.

The School Education Department will amend the Jammu and Kashmir School Education (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2008 as may be required to give effect to this decision.

RReTs will transition into teachers as procedure laid down in the Action Plan.

The Action Plan envisages formal merger of 526 posts of Headmasters and 3132 posts of Subject Specific Masters created under RMSA with Headmasters and Masters in the School Education Department, conversion/up-gradation of existing 4522 direct quota vacant non-teaching posts in different categories as Teachers, creation of 28,363 supernumerary posts of Teachers with the stipulation that these supernumerary posts shall subsist till completion of appointment/transition of eligible RReTs as regular teachers, and thereafter shall cease to exist on the adjustment if these supernumerary posts are against normally arising vacancies.

The School Education Department has been authorized as a one-time exception to fill certain vacant posts of lecturers by promotion of eligible PG Teachers/Masters in the relevant disciplines to enable utilization of the resultant vacancies of teachers for appointment/transition of RReTs as Teachers. This initiative is being taken in the larger interest of the teaching community and purely as a welfare measure.

The School Education Department has been granted one-time exemption for making regularization/confirmation/promotion of the officers (backlog and fresh) in respect of each gazetted category without referring the cases to the JKPSC/DPC.

The 4522 posts of non-teaching staff shall be restored to their original position as and when they become available after adjusting/subsuming all the supernumerary posts.

The School Education Department will encourage such RReTs as do not possess the requisite qualification to acquire the same within a specific time frame so as to up-scale them as regular teachers.

Further, all vacancies of lecturers/teachers referred to JKPSC/JKSSB where advertisement notices have not been issued or selection process has not been initiated or written test has not been conducted as on 07-12-2018, shall stand withdrawn. This shall, however, not apply to the posts for which selection lists have been published or where document verification is in process.

The SAC directed that a Committee of Officers under the Administrative Secretary, School Education Department with Director, School Education Kashmir/Jammu, representatives of General Administration and Finance Department not below the rank of Additional Secretary to Government or equivalent level will oversee the entire process of appointment/transition of RReTs as Teachers.

The School Education Department will nominate a Nodal officer to maintain a complete record of the vacancies of the lecturers/teachers or in the non-teaching category to ensure proper accounting of the posts created/converted/reverted, supernumerary posts, their adjustment against regular posts, vacancies arising from time to time, etc.

The Action Plan also envisages creation of a Human Resource Management (HRM) Branch in the School Education Department, Civil Secretariat to deal with Human Resource Management (HRM).

The Committee of Officers constituted vide Government Order No. 1263-GAD of 2018; Dated: 13-08-2018 will also examine the cases of 7706 under-graduate teachers who do not possess the qualification as ‘Graduate’ for their appointment/transition as regular teachers. The Committee will submit its report to the government within a period of one month.

The landmark decision will enable streamlining the cadre of RReTs by transitioning them in the regular cadre of teachers and meeting the salary deficit of SSA and RMSA teachers, which is over Rs 1400 crores per annum, out of the state budget.

Thus all teachers will henceforth get regular monthly salary on time consequent to the assimilation of various cadres of teachers into one regular teaching cadre. This will result in greater accountability, discipline and capacity building of teachers and improve the quality of education in the state.