E-Paper
Govt-aided secondary schools: U.P. govt seeks proposal to restore service security of 62K teachers
Due to absence of such a provision that grants service security to teachers and principals under the new commission, the arbitrariness of the managers has increased
The state government has sought a proposal from the director, secondary education, UP, to help restore the service security of around 62,000 principals and teachers of 4,512 government-aided secondary schools spread across Uttar Pradesh.
The principals and teachers of these schools were earlier selected through the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Service Selection Board (UPSESSB) but the appointments were made by the managers of these institutions.
Section 21 of the Secondary Education (Service Selection Boards) Act, 1982, provides that before taking any action against the principal or the teacher of these schools, the manager needs to take approval from the UPSESSB. This ensured that a manager could not take action at his own whims and fancies against a teacher or a principal of these institutions.
However, no such provision exists in the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission Bill passed by the state assembly on August 21, 2023 that has set up a new body overseeing the recruitments in the government-aided schools also, claim officials.
Since the UPSESSB now stands merged with the new commission—Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission, the provisions of the Intermediate Education Act 1921, have become effective in all service-related cases of teachers in government-aided schools, they say.
However, due to the absence of such a provision that grants service security to teachers and principals under the new commission, the arbitrariness of the managers increased. Teachers were allegedly being suspended arbitrarily and dismissed across the state.
Teachers’ organisations were agitating against it. Now, in a letter sent by minister of state for secondary education Gulab Devi to MLC Dhruv Kumar Tripathi on November 21, the minister has conveyed that the process of regulation amendment was discussed in the meeting held on October 23, 2024 on the proposal provided by the director, secondary education on March 31, 2024 for amendment to the Intermediate Act 1921.
As per the letter, a copy of which is with HT, it was decided in the meeting that with the end of the UP Secondary Education Service Selection Board Act, 1982, a consolidated proposal should be obtained from the Directorate of Education, UP, regarding the regulations of the Intermediate Education Act 1921 which need to be amended with regard to the services of teachers of government-aided secondary schools of the state, so that the entire process of amendment can be done simultaneously.
In this sequence, instructions were given to the director, secondary education, on October 23 to provide the consolidated proposal to the state government in this regard. After receiving the proposal, action will be taken to amend the regulation, the letter says.
Welcoming the move, president, Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh and former MLC Suresh Kumar Tripathi said, “After a long struggle, the rules of the selection board were made under which arbitrary actions of the managers without prior approval were considered void. However, now such actions are again being taken against teachers arbitrarily. If the service security of teachers is not restored by immediately amending the UP Intermediate Act 1921, we will have no option but to fight for it.”
