Promote us as principals regardless of B.Ed, demand in-charge principals

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 12: The Directorate of Secondary Education’s (DSE) advertisement published on June 7, 2016 for the selection of permanent principals for provincialized higher secondary schools in the State has posed a threat to a section of in-charge principals, who are apprehensive of losing the posts they are currently holding.

The advertisement has made it clear that principals for provincialized HS schools in the State must have B.Ed degree, besides postgraduation. The ground reality in the State, however, is such that a number of provincialized HS schools have in-charge principals who are not B. Ed degree holders, and which is why they are apprehensive of losing their posts. The selection process is supposed to start from June 15, 2016.

Reacting to the decision taken by the DSE, the Provincialized HS School I/C Principals’ Association (PHSSI/CPA) met and took a number of decisions today.

The general meeting of the association held in a school in Guwahati today felt that the advertisement issued by the DSE is grossly lopsided and full of anomalies. “The advertisement is a sheer reflection of lack of experience on the part of the officers concerned. We feel that such an advertisement will lead to a number of confusions and misunderstanding in the higher secondary schools in the State. It is fraught with the risk of spoiling the existing educatiol atmosphere in HS schools in the State,” most of the speakers present at the meeting said.

The Association took a resolution requesting the government to reconsider the decision taken by it, and promote the in-charge principals as principals without delay. The meeting regretted that the charge allowance that was supposed to be paid to the in-charge principals have not been paid as yet. “We request the government to release the amount immediately,” the meeting said, and added: “The in-charge principals are member-secretaries of the maging committees of the HS schools. Such secretaries will have to be candidates for the post of principals. We, therefore, have decided not to publish such a confusing advertisement.”

Talking to newsmen at Dispur Press Club here later in the day, association president Jitendra th Sarma and secretary Anchari Ali Ahmed said: “We’re senior teachers getting our appointment in accordance with the Assam Secondary Teachers/Employees Service Rules, 2003. Despite being founder teachers without getting any benefits from the government we have been rendering our service as in-charge principals. After our long service as in-charge principals without any allowance, how come the government deprives us at the fag-end of our service only for not obtaining B.Ed or B.T degree? We appeal to the government to revoke the advertisement, promote us as full-fledged principals and immediately release us the allowance meant for in-charge principals. Since the advertisement is not free from errors, we requested the government to revoke it, failing which; we’ll have no way out but to move the court.”

The two leaders of the association further said that the State government did not provide them any scope to do B.Ed or BT.