As many as 187 Gana Sikshaks (GSs) of Nuapada district have been punished for a fault that they have not committed. They have become ineligible for regularisation of services as they obtained permission from the BDOs, Sub-Inspectors of Schools (SISs) and their respective school Head Masters (HMs) instead of the District Project Coordinator (DPC) to pursue higher studies.
It was mandatory for the GSs, who were Class-X pass at the time of appointment, to acquire +2 qualifications within three years of their appointment. Those GSs, who took permission of BDOs, SISs and HMs to appear at the examinations, have been excluded from the list of eligible GSs sent on June 6, 2017 to the State Directorate of Elementary Education by the district authorities for regularization. “They had not taken permission from competent authority for acquiring higher education,” DPC official said.
A scanned copy of the eligible list with 609 GSs has been sent back to the DPC office for uploading in the district website to invite objections from the stakeholders. “As our names did not figure in the list, we approached the DPC to register our objections, but he did not listen to us,” rued some of the aggrieved teachers.
“The ground shown for not recommending our names seems peculiar because, 52 GSs out of eligible 609 as submitted to the directorate had not taken permission from the DPC then why were we targetedIJ” asks Gitanjali Chalan, an aggrieved GS. Gitanjali and six other GSs had taken permission from the BDO, Khariar on March, 3, 2009 to appear +2 examination. Copies of the letter had also been forwarded to the DPC and the District Inspector of Schools for information at that time. But when three of the seven GSs were listed as eligible Gana Sikshaks, others were disqualified.
Gitanjali had registered a complaint with the BEO, Khariar against the discrimination. But instead of considering enlistment, the BEO called for an explanation threatening disciplinary action. Such calls of explanations have been issued to ten other GSs of Khariar block.
“The BDO was our immediate authority at the block level at that time as there was no BEO system. Thus we took permission from the BDO,” explained the aggrieved teachers. The teachers further inform that two GSs Padma Jagat and Sudan Meher have appeared at +2 examination by taking permission from the Head Masters of their schools, but they have been included in the eligible list.
The GSs had been appointed purely on contractual basis in July 2008. Their services were renewed every year on the basis of their yearly performance, which was submitted by the officials at block level to the district authority recommending continuation. Any negligence done in a particular year by a GS, if remained unexplained, should have resulted in disciplinary action by higher authority at that time. The GSs were neither debarred from appearing the examinations nor were punished for the so called indiscipline. “Why the BEO suddenly rose from his deep slumber after long five years,” ask the teachers.
The aggrieved GSs smell of foul play in the preparation of list. “Why some of the ineligible GSs became eligible, can the DPC explainIJ” they ask. The list of eligible GSs has been approved by a district level committee consisting of the DPC, DWO, DEO, Sub-collector and the BEOs chaired by the district Collector. “Are these district-level officers rubberstamps, why didn’t they apply their mind while according their approvalIJ” ask the teachers.
