Guest faculty scheme put on hold: Himachal Pradesh CM

Shimla, January 20

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said that the scheme for engaging teachers on a hourly period basis as guest faculty would be kept on hold till all doubts were clarified.

Sukhu, while talking to mediapersons here, said, “The guest faculty scheme, which the Cabinet had approved at its last meeting, was only a stopgap arrangement to tide over the staff shortage problem for a short duration like one week or 10 days when teachers are on leave.” He added that norms and rates for hiring teachers in schools and colleges had been fixed to ensure that the studies of students did not suffer while teachers were on leave.

He said, “The reason for Himachal slipping to the 18th position on the quality education index was frequent transfer of teachers. As such, the guest faculty scheme is a period-based hourly policy to be adopted for a few days till a new teacher joins. It is not for one or two years.” He added that to be eligible for engagement under the scheme, a candidate must have scored 75 per cent in Class XII and 65 per cent in BEd. The candidate for engagement in colleges should be NET, SET and JRF qualified.

The unemployed educated youth, especially those who have done B.Ed or are NET or SET qualified were opposing the scheme tooth and nail, forcing the government to review its decision.

On the issue of the declaration of the results of the JOA (IT) recruitment exam, the Chief Minister said that the government was thoroughly reviewing the legal aspects of the case and would release the results soon. “I have been misquoted as having said that three ministers opposed the proposal at the Cabinet meeting. We will declare the results soon after examining all legal aspects and discussing these with the fellow ministers,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that the ‘Sarkar Gaon Ke Dwar’ programme was getting a positive response across the state. “The state government is disseminating information about its programmes and policies so that people can avail of their benefits. The BJP never adopted such a policy for the welfare of the people,” he added.

Stopgap arrangement

The guest faculty scheme, which the Cabinet had approved at its last meeting, was only a stopgap arrangement to tide over the staff shortage problem for a short duration like one week or 10 days when teachers are on leave. — Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister