Despite all the talk about harnessing youth power to bring about positive change, political parties and the Governments they lead do little to benefit the young. Uttar Pradesh’s teacher-recruitment scandal is just one such example
Political parties depend on the young to win elections. They try their best to lure the youth through means both fair and foul. During election time, political parties and their leaders make every possible promise to attract the young. On the global scene, India is said to be passing through a golden period that allows it to reap the benefits of a demographic dividend.
Ageing societies of the West and also some other affluent nations are expecting Indian youth to fill the vacant slots in the knowledge economy, and the newly emerging sectors in industry and information technology.
The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh proudly advertises that as he has generously distributed free laptops to lakhs of young persons, therefore, students from his State are equipped to compete at the global level against those who are products of the best education systems anywhere!
One wishes it were true but the conditions in the most populous State of India present a sordid tale of how young persons are being exploited by the education mafia in close connivance with the officials of the Government’s education department and their political bosses. Even a peripheral look at any of the significant aspect of education in the State will reveal neglect, exploitation and a lack of concern.
Field situations present stark evidence on how the State Government ensures that children in Government schools do not get good education. The lucky ones who are in private schools that charge high fees are spared of tough competition in the future. If it were not so, then how is it that 1,10,375 Government schools (that cater to students from weaker sections of society) that need 4, 86,182 teachers have only 1, 77, 866 on their rollsIJ To appoint para-teachers for a pittance of an honorarium, even when trained teachers are available, amounts to blatant discrimination against children of weaker sections.
Several startling facts have come to light after the Supreme Court’s March 25 judgement directing the State Government to complete the formalities and appoint 72, 825 teachers within the next four weeks. Advertisements for these posts were issued by the Government on November 30, 2011. Aspirants were to apply district wise. Further, they could apply in any number of districts with a simple stipulation: For every application, they would have to pay a fee of Rs 500 apiece!
In a State with rampant unemployment and little effort to create jobs, no one was willing to take chances. Unemployed, though trained and qualified, young men and women did their best to apply in as many districts as possible! As a result, 78 lakh applications were received and the State Government was richer by 390 crore rupees. Practically all of these applicants were from weaker sections of the society, mostly from rural areas and lower middle class families. For them, a fee of Rs 500 is a big sum of money.
Travel around Uttar Pradesh and meet some of these applicants many of whom had taken out loans to apply. They have waited for years together to get a Government job in a school. But their plight had just begun and there was much more in store! The Uttar Pradesh Government’s archaic, lethargic and insensitive bureaucracy was at its wits end as to how to process the 78 lakh applications it had received.
Then, in January 2012, the State is blessed with a new Government. An educated young man with an apparently pleasing personality took over as the Chief Minister. The young in the State were in high spirits, waiting for free laptops, jobs and all that was promised to them before the Assembly election.
The new Government found that the recruitment of teachers was to be made on the basis of the Teacher Eligibility Test that has been made mandatory by the National Council for Teacher Education. But instead of playing by the rules, it took a political decision and changed the eligibility criterion and advertised the post again. It stipulated that recruitment would primarily be decided on the basis of marks obtained in school Board examinations.
Here lies the catch: In Uttar Pradesh, copying in Board examinations is no longer an exception. It is the rule. Hence, marks of the candidates depend on factors other than his learning levels! It is worth a recall that some two decades ago, the young persons of Uttar Pradesh were lured by the same socialist party on the promise that it would repeal the Anti-Copying Act within an hour of coming to power! It was indeed one promise that was fulfilled well within the time limit.
The new rules threatened to turn the TET merit list upside down — which is precisely what the Government intended to do. Everyone was to apply again in as many districts as one liked and pay the application fee all over again. The State received another 68 lakh applications, accompanied by a sum of Rs 500 per application.
Those who know how the Government functions in Uttar Pradesh know how difficult it is to get a refund from the state. So, the aspirants had to arrange the money again. Forced into a corner, they gathered courage, collected funds and knocked at the doors of the Allahabad High Court pleading that the qualifications outlined in the previous advertisement be adhered to and that the State Government be directed to complete the recruitment process accordingly.
The court conceded to this reasonable request and set aside the illegal Government order that had modified the essential qualifications. But the Uttar Pradesh Government would not relent and went to Supreme Court. This forced the unorganised group of aspiring teachers to arrange for extra funds to plead their case before the Supreme Court! Thankfully, the apex court ruled in its favour.
What a shame it is to force young persons into debt ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000. Why could a State Government not charge the fee and take their options in order of preferenceIJ Why did it not honour the verdict of the High CourtIJ Are its babus and Ministers not aware of the plight of the applicants who have waited for several yearsIJ It is naïve to expect them to think of the children in Government schools that function without teachers.