More than a thousand candidates are waiting for appointment as teachers on compassionate ground in the school education department. These appointments have now been subjected to teachers' eligibility test, enhancing the pain of candidates-in-waiting.
The issue once again came to fore following the death of a teacher in an accident in Betul district. Another teacher, injured in this accident is fighting for his life in hospital.
More than thousand candidates are waiting for past ten years for appointment on compassionate grounds. According to existing rules, appointment should be given to a family member of the deceased within ninety days. The Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI), of the school education department, has now made qualifying the eligibility test mandatory.
Officials of the school education department reason that after implementation of the RTE (Right to Education) Act, qualifying the teachers' eligibility test besides being B.Ed or D.Ed is mandatory.
Implementation of the RTE Act was done in the year 2010. Since then teachers' eligibility test for primary teachers has not been organized taking pendency of appointments on compassionate ground to more than 1000.
A teacher, Chandrashekhar Rawande passed away in an accident on June 16. Another teacher, Madan Mali accompanying him, is seriously injured and is hospitalized. The Samagra Shikshak Vyakhyata evam Pracharya Kalyan Sangh has demanded compassionate appointment for the family member.
State president of Sangh, Mukesh Sharma said that the accident took place when these two teachers were going to their school to conduct board exams. The school education department should provide appointment to one of the family members on compassionate ground, he demanded.
Relaxation for qualifying teachers' eligibility test or other norms should be provided to such candidates as the matter is completely humanitarian, he added.
