Repatriation of subject specific teachers begins

Srinagar, July 27: The School Education Department (SED) has started repatriation of subject specific teachers who were earlier picked from elementary schools to overcome dearth of staff in secondary and higher secondary schools.

During the previous years, these subject specific teachers were picked from government primary and middle schools in order to provide academic support to the students at secondary and senior secondary level schools.

The exercise was done by the department owing to the dearth of Lecturers in the higher secondary schools. These teachers were shifted to the senior secondary schools under the rationalisation process. However, this year the SED started the process for hiring around 748 Cluster Resource Coordinators (CRCs) on contract basis for the higher secondary schools. These CRCs are being recruited to provide teaching support in schools given the non-availability of subject specific teachers and lecturers in these schools.

In wake of this, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Baramulla has ordered all the subject specific teachers to report to theri original place of postings. The order issued by CEO Baramulla states that in order to decrease the scarcity of the Teaching Staff and to safeguard the provision of subject experts to the higher secondary schools, the SED has engaged the CRCs on academic arrangement basis for the current academic Session 2024-25.

“In Baramulla district, 115 CRCs have been temporarily hired and issued engagement orders for different subjects in the Higher Secondary Schools,” the order reads. In the backdrop of the engagement of the CRCs and their posting in various Higher Secondary Schools, all those subject specific teachers who services were temporarily utilized from time to time in Higher Secondary Schools and where CRCs have joined have been directed to report their original place of postings.

“The officials are deemed to have been relieved with immediate effect and their DDOs are directed to shift their online attendance to their original place of posting,” the order reads. The CEO has sought an action taken report in this regard from the concerned cluster Heads and Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs).

As already reported by this newspaper, the deputation of subject specific teachers from elementary schools to higher secondary schools created crises in the primary and middle schools as the educational institutions were left teacher deficient.

However, with the repatriation of these teachers to their original place of postings, the staff strength in the elementary schools is likely to be improved.