Trained but unemployed yoga teachers sounded aggrieved over the fact that though books on yoga are being distributed free among the students studying in class 6th to 12th standards in Government-run schools in Uttarakhand, the State Government is doing nothing to appoint trained yoga teachers.
Though the Congress-led State Government has announced a slew of measures to promote yoga in Uttarakhand it has done nothing to appoint yoga teachers who could be instrumental in enlightening the youngsters in schools with traditional and spiritual practice of wellness, they said.
Thus, distribution of books worth lakhs every year among students since 2009 is amounting to misuse of public money, said Aan Singh Matiyani, a trained but unemployed yoga teacher.
Interestingly, Congress included the promotion of yoga through appointment of trained yoga teachers in its 2012 election manifesto.
But the party after forming the Government in the State cancelled the previous BJP- led State Government’s decision of appointing 1200 regular yoga teachers, he alleged.
Moreover, the present State Government also cancelled the previous BJP Government’s decision to appoint 1800 temporary yoga teachers.
However, the Congress-led State Government vowed to appoint 10,000 yoga teachers. But nothing has been done so far during the past three years of its rule, runs the refrain among such yoga teachers.
They say the State Government is little bothered to promote yoga education in the State. Ignoring the demand of trained but unemployed yoga teachers for jobs, the State Government announced to train music, drawing or physical education teachers to teach yoga in schools, they say.
“But the Government had to withdraw the decision following stiff opposition from the yoga degree and diploma holders,” Matiyani added.
Notably, the Government has been running the diploma and degree courses in higher education in Uttarakhand since 2003-2004.