Contractual TET-qualified teachers fear losing their jobs

Our Correspondent

TINSUKIA, April 11: Several thousand contractual TET qualified teachers serving since 2012 under SSA across Assam are apprehensive of losing their jobs after the Directorate of Elementary Education made advertisements for regular appointments against the vacant posts, with eligibility criteria not suitable for the serving teachers, even as the Education Minister allegedly claimed that the services of all contractual teachers had been regularized in a phased manner. At a press meet at Tinsukia Press Club on Wednesday, the Tinsukia district committee of Sadou Asom Tet Uttir Shikhok Samaj (SATUSS) demanded that the advertisements for appointment of regular teachers should be cancelled as it would deprive 50 per cent contractual teachers from applying to the posts. Addressing the media persons, rayan Teli, president, and Brahmanda Baruah, secretary of SATUSS, said there remained a hidden conspiracy to deprive the present incumbents who crossed age bar of 38 since joining in 2012. They wondered as to why the government did not publish the advertisement after the State cabinet enhanced the age from 38 years to 44 years with hype publicity. Claiming that Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statements were blatant lies, Teli said the minister in order to bask on the achievement, had been giving false statement that all contractual teachers were accorded permanent status at a time when 560 contractual teachers are yet to be regularized in Tinsukia district alone despite having requisite qualifications.

Pointing uncertainty in service security, they appealed that the government should give an opportunity to contractual teachers to apply by waiving the upper age limit and TET qualified teachers with less than 50 per cent marks in HS seeking revision in advertisements, while regretting that the government was yet to respond to the memorandum they had submitted recently. With just couple of months left for their 11 months of second contractual term to expire, Baruah firmly said that they would not compromise with their services, instead if necessary would seek legal options in later stages.