Process to sack ‘surplus’ TGTs to begin in two days

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 21

With the Haryana Government set to issue a notice of dispensing with the services of 4,073 guest teachers in pursuance of an order of the High Court and the sword dangling over nearly 11,000 others, the Manohar Lal Khattar government finds itself in a fix for failing to fulfil its election promise of providing regular jobs.

Sources in the School Education Department, bound by the court orders, said the first notice would go out to the “extra” trained graduate teachers (TGT) in two days. They have been a “burden” since the teaching of Class IX and X was shifted to the post-graduate teachers (PGT) in Haryana in September 2012.

This may be the beginning of the easing out of guest teachers as their protests against the move continue throughout the state, while sources said 9,455 JBT teachers selected by the Haryana Staff Selection Board were mounting pressure, seeking employment.

Under pressure from multiple quarters, the government, sources claimed, made a “preference offer” to guest teachers by giving them weightage in interview in lieu of their experience as also age relaxation in the teacher eligibility test. This, however, is not acceptable to guest teachers pressing for direct appointment and do not want to take the test at all.

The government finds bound by its poll promise of providing 15,475 guest teachers with regular jobs. Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, as the state BJP president had, at a protest meeting of guest teachers, promised that “regularising the services of 15,000 guest teachers” would be among the first decisions to be taken by the BJP after coming to power. This was before the Assembly elections in October last year.

The guest teachers have been reminding the government and Sharma of the unfulfilled promise by taking to the streets and laying siege to the houses of ministers and BJP legislators.

In what came as a greater embarrassment to the government was Health Minister Anil Vij’s tweet that he was pained by the police action against the protesting guest teachers in Karnal and sought a solution.

Sources said the government has decided to call a meeting of agitating employees, including the guest teachers.

The guest teachers — 15,405 in all — were recruited during the previous Congress regime in 2006 and initially employed on per period basis.

The Hooda government, however, had changed the per period basis of payment to a consolidated amount ranging between Rs 19,000 and Rs 26,000 per month, depending on the category. The government had recruited JBT teachers for primary classes, TGTs for Classes VI to VIII and PGTs for Classes XI and XIII. The PGTs were later allocated Classes IX and X.