585 PGT posts to be filled soon, says minister

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, September 29

Education Minister Rohit Thakur today said that a request to fill around 585 posts of postgraduate teacher had been sent to the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (HPSSC). Advertisements would be floated for vacancies of the said posts within the next 15 days, he added. Some of these posts would also be filled through promotions.

He held a meeting with officials of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) at Dharamsala. He said educational institutes would be made available even in the remote areas of the state. The Cabinet hadgranted approval for recruitment on 5,300 posts in elementary educational institutions.

The minister said, “The board officials informed me about the staff shortage. The state government will recruit staff as soon as the state selection commission is reconstituted.”

Rohit, who was accompanied by Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Education) Ashish Butail and acting Chairman of the education board Nipun Jindal, said, “Today, the literacy rate in the state is 88 per cent. It was only 47 per cent when the state was formed. Despite the invaluable contribution of the governments in the state so far, there is still a strong need to increase the level of education and bring quality.”

The minister said it was the priority of the present state government to strengthen both higher and secondary education institutions in Himachal. In the past six years, a departmental promotion committee (DPC) could not be constituted, as a result of which, no promotions took place. He said the post of principal had been lying vacant in 105 colleges.

The minister added that as soon as the present government took over, the DPC was constituted for 80 posts of principal. The government even initiated the appointment of teachers to 1,200 posts that were lying vacant in the colleges, he said, adding that as many as 400 news teachers had been appointed so far and the process of appointing 150 more was going on.

The minister added that a batch-wise recruitment to 2,521 posts has been advertised and as soon as the new selection commission is formed, thousands of posts will be filled.

The minister, while addressing mediapersons, said a major decision was taken at the meeting today that the education board decided to hold a function annually to honour meritorious students, who top the board examinations.

#Dharamsala