Odisha Adopts Annual Agreement Basis For Recruitment Of Junior Teachers

Odisha: Barely 10 months after abolishing the contractual system of appointments in the state, the Odisha government has decided to hire junior teachers (schematic) on one-year contracts.

A notification issued by the school and mass education department on Tuesday said the engagement will be on an annual agreement basis.

''The agreement will be renewed in subsequent years depending on teachers' performance. Prior to renewal of the agreement, a teacher has to obtain a certificate from the headmaster concerned regarding his/her attendance and satisfactory service which is to be produced before the zilla parishad.''

Educationists pointed out that the state government in 2018 had decided to abolish the posts of sikshya sahayaks and replace them with junior teachers on contract for the first three years.

In April this year, the government changed the nomenclature of junior teachers (contractual) to junior teachers (schematic). Though the government in October 2022 had announced the abolition of the contractual system of employment and regularisation of services of present contractual employees, the current notification appears to be contradictory to its earlier decision, an expert said.