New hiring firm: 300 government school employees may be replaced in Chandigarh

Computer teachers, counsellors and other employees working in the UT government schools are outsourced through the Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh

Three hundred odd contractual computer teachers, counsellors and other employees of 114 government schools in the city may lose their jobs as UT education department plans to rope in a new recruitment agency.

HT Image

The move comes at a time when the teachers and other employees await their salaries to be credited for the month of October.

The computer teachers, counsellors and other employees working in the UT government schools are outsourced through the Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC). At present, a senior teacher draws a salary of around ₹35,000 per month, junior teachers get around ₹29,000, while data entrepreneurs get around ₹20,000 per month.

Confirming the move, director school education (DSE) Rubinderjit Singh Brar said the teachers and other employees would be outsourced through Government E-Marketplace (GeM) by initiating a fresh recruitment process through a new service provider.

A UT official on the condition of anonymity said, “Under general financial rules released by the government of India in 2017, it is mandatory for various departments to procure goods and services through GeM portal with narrow exceptions. However, I am not sure if GeM is to be used for hiring of the skilled staff.” “SPIC provides complete manpower consultancy to other departments of the UT as well, conducts the hiring process as per their requirements and then deputes the manpower in the respective departments,” he said.

TEACHERS WORKING WITH EDUCATION DEPT FOR OVER A DECADE

A teacher, requesting anonymity, said, “The posts were advertised by the UT education department in 2007-08 academic year after which a written test and interviews were conducted. The then panel was also of the education department, including then district education officer (DEO).”

For over a decade, the teachers were issued annual contracts, however, quarterly contracts have been issued to them this year. The last contract was renewed on October 31.

SALARY WOES

In addition to the fear of losing their jobs, a delay in the credit of their salaries has added to the woes of the 300 odd contractual employees. However, the delay in the credit of salaries is not new for them. There was a delay in the salary of September also and the amount was credited on October 25.

According to the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, salaries need to be paid before the seventh day of every month after the last day of the wage period. In case the number is less than 1,000 employed workers, the salary is to be paid by the 10th day of every month.

OFFICIALS SPEAK

Speaking about the issue, DSE Brar said, “Right now, we have to pay 2% of the entire transaction charge to SPIC as commission, whereas if these teachers are outsourced using GeM, it cuts down to 0.2% approximately.”

When asked if the teachers would be losing their jobs, Brar said, “I cannot comment on that. They are employees of SPIC and we have outsourced them but we will ensure that they are paid their dues, at least.”

When asked about the fate of the teachers, SPIC chief executive officer Saurabh Mishra said, “It is the call of the UT education department and the new agency which will be hired by them. The education department will decide whether to task the outsourcing of teachers and other employees through a fresh recruitment process or hire the existing ones.”