Jharkhand HRD Minister Jagarnath Mahato informed a delegation of para teachers that the Government has taken the decision to accommodate demands of para teachers from pay hike to regularisation of their service.
The Minister informed the delegation that the Jharkhand government is working on the proposal on the line of the Bihar Government where para teachers too had carried agitation for their demands.
“By the next week the draft of the proposal will be prepared and it will be brought for discussion with para teachers. If any correction and amendment required the same will be looked into,” minister informed the media and the delegation of para teachers.
He said the draft of the proposal will be shared with the para teachers association adding that the government hoped that the proposal will be up to the satisfaction of para teachers.
If the Bihar model is followed para teachers will not have to qualify Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET). On the lines of Bihar, teachers will have to appear for a limited examination for their regularisation. The limited examination may carry 100 marks and as per the Bihar model para teachers from general category will have to achieve minimum 45 per cent marks and rest 40 per cent to qualify the examination. Those who possess a TET certificate will be exempted from limited examination.
At present there are around 65,000 para teachers working in Jharkhand and out of these, 13000 teachers are TET qualified. Once their service is regularised para teachers will be able to work till 60 years of age. They will be entitled for a pay scale of Rs 5,200-Rs20,000 besides three percent increase in pay scale per year.
Para teacher said that they wish the government wouldn’t fool them this time. “At this moment nothing can be said because this is not known whether the Jharkhand government will completely or partially follow the Bihar model.
“It will take more than six months and even one year for the new model to become operational. So, for the time being we have asked the minister to increase our honorarium since from 2018 honorarium has not been increased. We have requested the minister for the flat Rs 20,000 as honorarium,’ said a para teacher.