Maharashtra: Govt move to appoint teachers on contract in over 1,700 posts in ashram schools draws criticism
Last week, the Tribal Development department made the announcement for contractual appointment of teachers to 1,791 posts in ashram schools. This includes 809 teachers in the primary section of Marathi medium and 178 for English medium schools. The other posts are in secondary (455) and higher secondary (229) along with 120 graduate primary teachers. The Government Resolution (GR) states that all these posts will be filled via contractual employment and will be done through tendering process.
Soon after the GR was out, educators across the state started voicing strong concerns not only over the decision to make contractual appointments but also the process of tendering. Presence of a third-party agency in the process, according to many, is a bad move.
J M Abhyankar, member of Legislative Council, who has written a letter to state Tribal Development Minister Dr Ashok Uike, opposing the decision, said, 'These schools are the only source of basic education for tribal children coming from remote areas of the state. These children not only come there to study but also to stay on the same premises, this doubles the responsibilities of teachers working in these schools. As these are residential schools, teachers are also expected to stay on the premises, which requires a person to relocate to a remote area. Ideally, the government should announce incentives for trained persons to take up these jobs. But here, the state is willing to let it out to people who are ready to work on these posts on contracts.'
Abhyankar also pointed out that inviting tenders means bringing an agency in the process of recruitment. 'Already the salary will be very low since it is contractual employment. And with the middlemen it will be further reduced. Which trained teacher would want to take up a job like this,' said Abhyankar, adding that the government is betraying the tribal population of the state by compromising on education of their children.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Shivaram Karanth Layout: Unable to allot sites, Govt. losing ₹1,000 cr annually, says DKS
The State government is losing about ₹1,000 crore annually on Shivaram Karanth layout following a High Court stay, said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday in the Legislative Council. 'The government has invested about ₹7,000 crore for the development of the layout. Due to the stay order, we are unable to allot sites in the layout. The government is seeking legal advice from the Advocate General on this matter. The government faces a loss of about ₹1,000 crore annually due to the stay order.' He pointed out that though the acquisition process commenced 15 years ago, compensation to farmers have not been given yet. PRR project Speaking on the Peripheral Ring Road project, the Deputy Chief Minister said that he was not ready to go to jail by denotifying land, but the project cannot be stopped. 'We are looking at alternatives. We are trying to take land from farmers under the 60:40 scheme. Near Gottigere, though the land has been notified for the road, revenue layouts have come up and there are about 5,000 homes. We are considering an elevated portion of the road,' he told Legislative Council in response to a question on the fate of houses that have come up in revenue layouts besides seeking scrapping of the project. 'I am not ready to go to jail by denotifying the land. Even our government is not ready to do it. The preliminary notification was issued in 2006, and since then, no government has denotified the land. We cannot drop the road project at any cost. It is a ₹26,000-crore project,' he said. Though no farmer is cultivating the land, compensation has not been provided for about 20 years. 'Land prices in those areas are upto ₹20 crore an acre,' he said. When Mr. Gopinath asked who would get the compensation for the land acquired, he said that whoever has the documents will receive compensation.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
DK Shivakumar cites PM Modi's support to defend Bengaluru tunnel road project
Bengaluru: In a bid to stymie opposition BJP's criticism of the state govt's 'tunnel road' project, deputy chief minister on Thursday claimed to have earned the backing of none other than for the state govt's ambitious plan to ease the city's traffic gridlock. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Speaking during a debate in the Legislative Council, Shivakumar claimed to have secured the PM's consent for the multi-crore rupee project, while reiterating that he was open to suggestions, debates, and discussions on the plan to decongest Bengaluru's roads. Shivakumar's explanation came in response to BJP MLC C T Ravi's reference to the project as "unscientific", even as he questioned its cost and compared it to similar infrastructure ventures across the country. Responding to it, Shivakumar recalled Modi's appreciation for the project during his recent visit to the city to inaugurate Namma Metro's Yellow Line. "Some MPs accused me of planning this project to loot money. I want to make it clear, I'm not approaching this as a business or financial venture. I'm ready to face any inquiry if there's a trace of corruption in this," the deputy CM said. He continued: "When the PM visited last week, I requested him not to make empty promises and handed over a representation on these [infra] projects. He readily asked me to go ahead and assured that he would look into it." Explaining the feasibility part, Shivakumar said toll collection will be inevitable. Point-Counterpoint On Cost Questioning the viability of the tunnel road's estimated cost, Ravi compared it with the other major urban infra projects in the country: 9-km Atal Tunnel (Rs 365 crore/km), the 29-km Mumbai Coastal Road (Rs 445 crore/km), and the 119-km Bengaluru-Mysuru access-controlled highway (Rs 71 crore/km). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In contrast, he claimed the 16-km Hebbal-Silk Board tunnel's cost is pegged at Rs 1,156 crore/km, while the 28-km KR Pura-Nayandahalli tunnel will cost Rs 893 crore/km. He also alleged that blacklisted firms were involved in preparing the detailed project report. Shivakumar, though, dismissed the comparison, claiming that compared to other major projects such as the Gaimukh and Orange Gate tunnels, which cost Rs 1,316 crore/km, the cost of building Bengaluru's tunnel road at Rs 770 crore/km "is significantly lower". BOX Govt to penalise firm for copying DPR content from Maha project Times News Network Bengaluru: The state govt on Thursday said it will penalise a private consultancy for allegedly copying portions of a Maharashtra infra project report and pasting the same into a draft detailed project report (DPR) for Bengaluru's proposed tunnel road. Admitting to "glaring errors" in the draft DPR — highlighted by BJP functionaries during a Legislative Council debate — deputy CM and Bengaluru in-charge minister D K Shivakumar confirmed that the firm would be penalised, though he did not specify the quantum of penalty. BJP MLC C T Ravi earlier accused Delhi-based Rodic Consultants, which had prepared the draft DPR, of lifting content from a similar project between Nashik and Malegaon in Maharashtra. TOI first reported the errors on Jan 8, 2025, citing citizen activists' findings. BBMP earlier disclosed it had fined the consultant Rs 5 lakh.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Declared Dead By Poll Body, Bihar Man Visits CEO's Office To Say He Is Alive
Patna: A resident of Bhojpur district in Bihar on Thursday called on the Chief Electoral Officer of the state to plead that he was alive. Mintu Paswan, who was earlier this week produced before the Supreme Court earlier this week, was taken to the CEO's office by a delegation of CPI(ML) Liberation. VIDEO | Patna: Mintu Kumar Paswan reaches Election Commission with documents, as he was declared dead in the voters' draft list. He says, "I went to Supreme Court, because I was declared dead in the voters' list. The judge spoke in English, and I do not understand that… I have… — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 14, 2025 "I don't know whether I was seen as an apparition by the officials. The fact remains that I have been distraught to learn that I have been declared dead in the special intensive revision (SIR)," Paswan told reporters here. He alleged that no booth-level officer (BLO) had visited his home. CPI(ML)-L secretary Kunal, who was present on the occasion, said, "Anomalies of this type are the very reason behind our general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya opposing SIR in the Supreme Court. Mintu is being asked to fill up Form 06, meant for registration of new voters, even though he has voted in the past". The CEO has asked him to hand over the form to the BLO concerned, who already stands exposed for a goof-up, the Left leader asserted. "He (the BLO) has confessed to his mistake and told the CEO that Mintu's name got struck off instead of another person," said Kunal. If the BLO spoke the truth, the name of the dead person must be there on the draft electoral rolls, the CPI(ML)-L secretary said, adding that Mintu is being made to run from pillar to post because of this "comedy of errors". Replying to a query from journalists, he said, "We have identified altogether 21 people, so far, who have been wrongfully declared dead, leading to deletion of their names. Of them, 10 were produced before the Supreme Court. He added that the apex court was convinced of the mistake in only two instances - one was of Mintu and the other was that of a woman in Raghopur. Incidentally, Raghopur is the assembly seat of the leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav, whose party RJD is an alliance partner of the Left. "We do not know how effective the intervention by the Supreme Court is going to be. The Election Commission has been brazening it out, falsely claiming that political parties are not coming up with any claims or objections. We shall keep helping as many people as possible in getting their names included in the voters' list," Kunal said.
