Create librarian posts at govt schools: Haryana Library Association

The Haryana Library Association has submitted a memorandum to the Director of Secondary Education demanding the creation of posts of librarian in government schools of the state. As per information, Rupesh Gaur — president, Haryana Library Association (HLA), and secretary, Indian Library Association (ILA) — and HLA general secretary Ajay Arora recently met the Director of Secondary Education, requesting the creation of and recruitment for posts of school librarian in all government schools across the state.

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Gaur said, as per National Education Policy-2020, every school must have a fully functional and vibrant library and include professionally trained librarians. CBSE Library Guidelines mandated the appointment of qualified librarians to ensure the proper functioning and management of school libraries, Gaur added.

Furthermore, the Haryana School Education Rules (2003) stipulated that each school should have a minimum of 1,000 books, requiring professional cataloguing and utilisation, he said. Dr Gaur said, despite government schools in Haryana having books, furniture, and digital resources, the absence of sanctioned librarian posts has led to underutilisation of the resources, which, he claimed, went against the spirit of NEP-2020. Arora said Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi had already made significant progress by regularly recruiting school librarians.

He emphasised the urgent need for Haryana to follow suit, both to improve the quality of education and to provide employment opportunities to qualified library and information science graduates. He said the Director assured the delegation that the matter would be given serious consideration in light of national education policies and the evolving needs of school education in Haryana.