Teachers, DSEK trade blame over favouritism in staff rationalisation in Bandipora district

Srinagar, Mar 12: The recent order for the rationalisation of teaching staff issued by the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) for schools across Bandipora district has stirred up a controversy as teachers complain of errors and discrepancies in the process.

The order, issued on March 2, by the DSEK has been met with skepticism with teachers complaining that the move has defeated the actual purpose of streamlining resources and improving efficiency in schools.

The Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) Tasaduq Hussain Mir however, denied any errors saying that the list forwarded by the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Bandipora rationalisation included names of teachers posted in Gurez.

"According to the DSEK, the list included names of teachers posted in the Gurez area, and their relocation to Bandipora would mean injustice to the students in Gurez schools," DSEK told Greater Kashmir.

However, the controversy has deepened as allegations of malpractice and deliberate manipulation of the rationalisation has come to fore. The teachers have voiced concerns that the process has not been conducted on merit.

Officials in Bandipora said that a proposed list of over 100 teachers for rationalisation was obtained from Cluster Heads in accordance with NEP guidelines and was forwarded to DSEK for approval.

"Shockingly, the final list released by the Directorate contains names not included in the original list forwarded by the CEO office Bandipora," the teachers said.

Officials suspect foul play, alleging that the list was tempered by some lower rung officials posted at the DSEK, allegedly for financial gain.

"The rationalisation process is intended to streamline resources and improve efficiency. Ironically, the employees at the directorate have changed the list which has resulted in the controversy," an official informed Greater Kashmir.

The changes made in the rationalisation list have raised serious questions about the integrity of the process. Also, the instances of non-existent teachers, incorrect transfers, and apparent disregard for school mergers have been highlighted.

The list includes names of teachers who have supposedly been transferred to schools that do not exist or have been merged, exposing the flawed execution of the rationalisation order.

"The officials have violated NEP guidelines, as the reshuffle has been done based on personal preferences rather than merit. The rationalisation process has been manipulated to favour certain teachers and post them as per their conveniences," an aggrieved teacher said.

However, the DSEK Tasaduq Hussain Mir denied any deliberate errors in the rationalisation process. "The list was forwarded by the CEO a few days prior to his retirement. The list included names of teachers posted in Gurez, and approving it would have shifted teachers from Gurez to Bandipora, creating a shortage of teaching staff in Gurez schools," he said.

He however said that there can be the possibility of errors in the list which will be looked into.

"But it is not true that we have made any deliberate changes in the list to accommodate blue-eyed teachers," he said.