No teachers’ recruitment since 2018, aspirants worried

Prayagraj: No new recruitment of teachers in government-run schools of up to class 8 since December 2018 has left lakhs of aspirants in a fix.They claim that post implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in Uttar Pradesh in 2011, there have been 12 recruitment drives between 2011-2018 to appoint teachers. However, much to the disappointment of lakhs of aspiring teachers across state, since December 2018, there has been no recruitment.On July 25, 2017, the Supreme Court had cancelled the adjustment of 1,37,517 shiksha mitras (para teachers) to the post of assistant teachers in government-run primary schools. Thereafter, the state government had recruited assistant teachers against 69,000 vacant posts in two phases on the orders of the Supreme Court. “The process of recruitment of 69,000 teachers was done in December 2018. However, since then no fresh recruitment of teachers have been advertised by the state government,” claimed an aspirant in Prayagraj. Avanish Pandey, president, Pratiyogi Chatra Sabha— a body representing educated unemployed youths vying for government jobs— claimed that on an average 12,000 teachers retire from government-run primary schools every year.“The state government had accepted in the Supreme Court four years ago that more than 52,000 posts of teachers are lying vacant in the state and therefore lack of new recruitment is sad,” he said. “More than 10 lakh BEd and DElEd qualified unemployed youngsters are frustrated due to lack of any recruitment,” he claimed.State education department officials are, however, tight-lipped on the issue and maintain that the decision to initiate any new recruitment lies with the state government. If one looks at when in recent years the teacher recruitment advertisement, posts of teachers were advertised in November 2011, October 2012, April 2013, October 2013, August 2013 (Urdu teacher recruitment), July 2013, December 2014, January 2016, June 2016, December 2016 and January 2018 which was again advertised in December 2018.tnn