The education department’s plan to induct teachers under guest faculty scheme is meeting stiff resistance from the serving teachers. The department is preparing to appoint about 3,000 unemployed youths as guest faculty in the Government schools of the State after the financial clearance from State Government. The department move is being opposed by the biggest organisation of school lecturers — the Rajkeeya Shikshak Sangh (RSS).
The President of the Garhwal Mandal of RSS Ram Singh Chauhan told The Pioneer that the plan to appoint guest faculty would be opposed by the Sangh. He said that to appoint youths at a paltry wage of Rs15,000 per month is injustice to the unemployed youths. Chauhan said that the department should focus on internal promotions to fill the vacant posts of lecturers and lecturer Teachers (lT). He said that if the department still wants to give jobs to unemployed youths then it should implement the scheme in cadre of lT only.
Chauhan said that the Sangh would not allow the scheme to be implemented in the cadre of lecturers. He informed that RSS would start an agitation from April 6 on the issue. The leaders of the Sangh met the education director and apprised their opposition on the guest faculty scheme. The Dehradun unit of the Sangh also discussed the issue on Sunday, the District President of Dehradun unit N S Bisht said that the department should recruit new teachers and fill the 50 per cent of the vacant posts of lT and lecturers by internal promotions.
There are about 4,500 posts lecturer Teachers (lTs) and 3,500 posts of lecturers in the education department which are vacant at present. It is worth mentioning here that the process of new recruitment in these vacant posts is currently in process. There are more than 35,000 Bachelor of Education (BEd) qualified youths in the State who are eager to make a foothold into the education department of the State.