SRINAGAR: The government has clarified that the first five years served by Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers before their regularisation will be counted notionally as qualifying service for pension and other retirement benefits, wherever applicable.
The clarification was given in the Legislative Assembly on Monday in response to a question by Shangus (Anantnag East) MLA Reyaz Ahmad Khan regarding service benefits and pension provisions for ReT teachers.
The government said the decision to count the initial five years of pre-regularisation service had already been approved through Cabinet Decision No. 115/09/2014 on June 19, 2014.
The provision was subsequently notified through Government Order No. 469-Edu of 2014 dated June 25, 2014, it said.
On the demand for restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for teachers initially appointed under the ReT scheme before January 1, 2010, the government said the pension regime depended on the date of their regularisation.
ReT teachers regularised before January 1, 2010 are covered by the OPS, while those regularised after that date are governed by the New Pension Scheme (NPS).
The government cited SRO-400 dated October 24, 2009 and Finance Department Office Memorandum No. A/Misc/2012/F/466 dated April 20, 2012 in support of the applicable pension provisions.
