Jobless JBT diploma holders stage protest

Tribune News Service

Mandi, February 10

Unemployed Junior Basic Training (JBT) diploma holders held a protest march here today in support of their long-pending demand of cancelling the eligibility criterion for B.Ed pass-outs for recruitment. Abhishek Thakur, state president of JBT Trained Unemployed Youths Association, led the protest.

Thakur said that the government had declared BEd pass-outs eligible for the posts of JBT teacher. “It directly impacts unemployed JBT diploma holders, who are waiting for recruitment on the posts, as per their qualifications,” he added.

“Every year, around 5,000 youths pass JBT diploma in the state. The educational qualifications of BEd pass-outs and JBT diploma holders are different. The JBT diploma course can be done after secondary education, while B.Ed is allowed after graduation. We have also moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court on the issue but the government is not responding positively,” he said. “We urge the Chief Minister and the Education Minister to look into the matter and take a decision in the favour of JBT diploma hodlers,” he added.