Education Department’s erratic GRs put 3 lakh qualified teachers in a fix
   Date :11-May-2023

Education Department 
 
 
Staff Reporter
Maharashtra has three lakh teachers, who have cleared DEd, BEd and also cracked Pavitra Portal examination but are still jobless. If the State Government gives a deep thought to the issue, it can come out with a plan to see services of such teachers utilised in night schools which have about 4,000 teaching posts vacant. Ironically, the fate of such teachers is in the dark due to erratic Government Resolution (GR) of May 17, 2017 and of June 30, 2022. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shikshak Aghadi brought the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, he immediately asked the Education Department to take corrective steps. In Maharashtra, there are 165 night schools, of which 11 are in Nagpur. Teachers in night schools are underpaid while those serving in day schools get full salary. To impart better education in night schools, Governments in Maharashtra had been appointing qualified teachers. Accordingly, permanent teachers working in day schools were allowed to teach to students of night schools too. Such teachers were paid half salary in addition to the pay their were drawing for their services in day schools. During the tenure of Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the then Education Minister Vinod Tawde had taken a landmark decision to provide all benefits to the teaching and non-teaching staff working in night schools. A Government Resolution to this effect was issued on May 17, 2017. The GR had specified that the services of qualified teachers be taken for night schools.
They would be working independently and no jobs were offered to the teachers working in day schools.
Anil Mahadevrao Shivankar, President of Nagpur Vibhagiya BJP Shikshak Aghadi, explained to ‘The Hitavada’, “The change was introduced during Fadnavis Government was good, but when Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) Government came to power, it cancelled the GR of 2017. The MVA government issued a new GR to this effect on June 30, 2022. This new GR allowed the day school teachers to work in night schools too. It hampered the jobs of new candidates. We gave several memorandums to the then MVA Government but those were ignored. When Shinde-Fadnavis Government came to power, we approached them. Now, the State Government has stayed the GR of June, 2022. Shockingly, the stay was withdrawn this year and orders were issued by Education Department allowing the permanent teachers of day schools to work in night schools too.”
A delegation of the BJP Shikshak Aghadi, under the leadership of Dr Kalpana Pande, met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and brought the change to his notice. The delegation demanded that the GR issued on June 30, 2022 should be canceled and the GR of May 17, 2017 be brought into implementation. Shinde, immediately, asked School Education Department to take necessary steps so that services of qualified teachers be utilised in night schools. Vinod Kadu, Ranjit Wasade, Sunil Thanekar, Ramesh Popte, Surekha Mohod, Sunita Bhute, Rahul Natnavre, Nandkishor Barve, Suryakanta Bhende, Varsha Nagpure, Rajesh Sathawane, Bhola Parate apart from Dr Kalpana Pande and Anil Shivankar were part of the delegation.
Meanwhile, supporting the demand, Mahesh Joshi, State General Secretary of Maharashtra Navnirman Shikshak Shikshaketar Sena, said, “Our party is constantly taking up the issue. The employees of night school will be meeting Raj Thackeray at Mumbai after his Konkan tour. If the GR of June 30, 2022 is not cancelled, the employees will lodge complaint of cheating with the police against the then Chief Minister and present Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the then Education Minister Vinod Tawde. The employees have decided to boycott the voting to be casted to Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena.”