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Several hundred teachers from across the state of Maharashtra gathered outside the state Education Commissioner’s office to protest against recruitment delays in government schools on Monday afternoon.
These teachers have qualified the Teacher Competence and Intelligence Test (TAIT) – the eligibility test for teacher recruitment in Zilla Parisad, Municipal Council, Civic Authority as well as subsidized and semi-assisted private schools in Maharashtra.
The recruitment process – which takes place online on the Pavitra portal – has yet to start for those who qualified for TAIT earlier this year. There are more than 60 thousand vacancies for teachers in Maharashtra government schools. The Minister of Education has promised to complete recruitment for 80 per cent of seats this academic year – by June 14, but we are still waiting for the process to begin,” he objects.
“The eligibility test was last conducted in 2017, and there has been no hiring since then. We are waiting for jobs we are qualified for, and we are calling for immediate hiring of 55,000 teachers.”
The Aurangabad Court of Bombay High Court halted the recruitment process earlier. To face the shortage of teachers in the Zilla parishad schools, the Department of School Education has decided to hire retired teachers on a contractual basis, so that new teachers can be hired. “I have been doing day labor for a living for years and now we are not recruited even though we qualified for the exam this year,” said Namdev Wagh of Thein.
Wagh added, “I completed my graduation from the University of Mumbai with a diploma in Education in 2009, but I am still waiting for a government job.”
Some representatives met Education Commissioner Suraj Mandir on Monday afternoon to discuss their demands. “We will hire 50,000 teachers, but in stages and not all at once,” said Mandhare, referring to the time required for the Aadhar verification process and approval of the recruitment pattern. So far, Aadhar verification has been completed for 1,75,000 students – out of a total of Rs 2 crore. “Also, there are some issues with the list as some of them are missing or not being maintained properly. This will take some time,” the official said.
“We will start the first stage after the list, Aadhar verification is complete.”
Madhuri Leve from Pune said, “I have master’s degrees in English and education, but I study in a private school on a meager salary of 12,000 rupees… I want a government job because the pay is better, and there is job security.”
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