Uttar Pradesh govt has set the ball rolling to set up a separate board for hiring primary teachers for the first time to ensure transparent recruitment in government jobs in the state.
The proposed Basic Education Service Selection Board would undertake all recruitments for around 1 lakh primary and around 60,000 upper primary schools being run by the state government across 75 districts.
Till now these recruitments were being conducted by UP Basic Education Board as the key body and basic shiksha adhikaris (BSAs) of districts as the appointing authority.
The new body would be in line with UP Secondary Education Service Selection Board, Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment And Promotion Board, Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Service Commission and UP Public Service Commission already functioning in the state.
A senior education department official said the task of framing the ordinance for the board has begun and the government plans to bring it into existence by urging the state assembly to pass it at the earliest so that a fast-paced and fair recruitment of teachers can be initiated on priority.
Recruitment of teachers has been mired in allegations of corruption and irregularities leading to a number of litigations that has prevented teachers-starved primary schools from getting fresh hands to teach.
As many as 1.60 lakh teaching positions are lying vacant in government-run schools in Uttar Pradesh. The state has 759,958 teaching positions in primary and upper primary government schools while there are only 585,232 teachers serving at present, sources said.
For setting up the proposed board, the state government has formed a 4-member committee to prepare the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Service Selection Board Ordinance-2017. The panel has been asked to complete its task by May 12.
This panel is being headed by UP director of literacy and alternative education Awadh Naresh Sharma and additional director (basic) camp office Neena Srivastava is its member secretary and convenor.
Other 2 members of the committee include deputy secretary of Basic Education Board Skand Shukla and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’s senior expert, Om Prakash Tripathi.
The panel has already begun its work and held its first meeting in Lucknow.
The state government has started compiling details of primary and upper primary schools being run by Basic Shiksha Parishad that have a severe shortage of teachers. It has sought details of all such schools that either is without teachers or are running with single teachers across the state.
Joint director (basic) Lalita Pradeep has instructed all basic shiksha adhikaris of the districts to provide details of all such schools immediately.
[“source-ndtv”]
