Masters promoted this month are not ‘lecturers’

CHANDIGARH: The state Education Department today declared that those elevated from Master cadre to lecturers early this month and even those who have joined as lecturers at their new place of posting “should not be treated to have been promoted to the post of lecturers.

Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

The state Education Department today declared that those elevated from Master cadre to lecturers early this month and even those who have joined as lecturers at their new place of posting “should not be treated to have been promoted to the post of lecturers.”

Although the department has taken this decision after the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered a stay on July 14 following a writ petition, uncertainty was looming large over fate of around 1,500 lecturers, who were issued promotion orders before July 14 since they had already joined their new postings by the time of the HC orders.

The department also ordered that such teachers will not draw salary meant for lecturers. It has also clarified that promotions be kept in abeyance till further orders.

In an order circulated by Director, Public Instruction, Balbir Singh Dhol, today he had categorically stated, “The employees who have already joined should not be treated to have been promoted to the post of lecturers and their pay shall be drawn in the pay scales meant for masters.”

“The department, however, decided to not to revert such teachers back to their previous place of posting. “In order to mitigate their hardship, they shall remain posted at their present place of posting,” reads the order.

The department had promoted over 2,200 master cadre teachers as lecturers on July 3. During the promotion process, the teachers who had obtained masters degrees from out of state universities through distance education were not considered eligible for promotion.

However, some of the affected teachers approached the HC claiming that their degrees were valid and they should be considered for promotion.

Meanwhile, reacting to the department’s decision, some teachers claimed that the order was ambiguous as far as their role in schools was considered.

“Nowhere in the order is mentioned whether such lecturers will teach students of Class XI and XII as lecturers or they will take classes up to Class X as masters or mistress,” said an affected teacher.