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Soren-led Jharkhand govt faces criticism after high court stays teachers recruitment
On September 5, the Jharkhand high court issued the stay order while hearing a petition filed by Bahadur Mahto, who had raised objections to the recruitment rules.
The Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government has come under heavy criticism after the high court ordered a stay on the recruitment process of 26,000 teachers that had commenced on August 16.
On September 5, the Jharkhand high court issued the stay order while hearing a petition filed by Bahadur Mahto, who had raised objections to the recruitment rules.
Mahto, a block resource person, objected, stating that while the recruitment rules formulated in 2022 provided for 50 per cent reservation for block resource persons (BRP) and cluster resource persons (CRP), the 2023 rules had no such provision.
BRPs and CRPs are individuals associated with block resource centres who work closely with schools and teachers to provide necessary resources and support to enhance their teaching practices.
The court, in its stay order, directed the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) to submit an affidavit and postponed the hearing for four weeks. As a result of this order, teaching job aspirants expressed concerns about the government’s failure to formulate foolproof recruitment rules.
“There is no one in the government responsible for formulating proper recruitment rules; otherwise, the court would not have stayed the recruitment process. Earlier, the high court had rejected the recruitment rules of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, under which only students who had completed their 10th and 12th from the state’s institutes were eligible to participate in the recruitment process,” said a Ranchi University student who is preparing for the recruitment test, the last date for which was September 15.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi also took a jab at the Soren government.
“The state government has neither the intention nor the policy to employ the youth. The accidental chief minister has been making wrong rules and policies from the beginning to deceive the youth. The chief minister had announced 35 thousand new jobs just yesterday, and as an initial trend, the appointment of 25 thousand old teachers was halted due to incorrect rules. Last year, too, the government cancelled thousands of appointments due to its flawed planning policy. They seem to be playing with the future of the youth, selling positions, and making sensational headlines in the newspapers. Announcements are all they care about,” Marandi said in a post on social media.
Supriyo Bhattacharya, a senior leader and spokesperson of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), refused to comment on the matter.
“It is the government’s responsibility. Only the advocate general (AG) can comment on this matter,” Bhattacharya said.
AG Rajeev Kumar could not be reached for comment.
When contacted, JSSC secretary Madhumita Kumari said, “The petitioner had not made JSSC a respondent in the case. Now, the court has made JSSC one of the respondents, and it will submit its affidavit in the case before the court.”
