SRINAGAR: The School Education Department in the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory has proposed significant changes to its Gazetted Service Recruitment Rules in response to the new National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020.
These changes include the introduction of the position of Vice-Principal and the addition of a B Ed Degree requirement for the post of Lecturer. Additionally, a limited Departmental Examination by the Jammu Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) has been suggested for promotion purposes, along with the inclusion of an alternative of at least six percent of Lecturers to temporarily fill positions during deputation, training, and leave.
The Department has notified the Draft Jammu and Kashmir School Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules for 2023 and has invited feedback from stakeholders within a 15-day period. However, it’s worth noting that the draft notification of the proposed Rules has not yet been made available on the official websites of the School Education Department, despite the impending deadline for submission of objections and suggestions.
According to the proposed draft, the B Ed Degree has been added to the existing qualification of Post Graduation for the position of Lecturer, in line with NCERT guidelines. For promotions, in addition to the B Ed Degree, a limited Departmental examination will be conducted by JKPSC, with the syllabus set by the Jammu and Kashmir State Council of Educational Research and Training (JKSCERT). The Department also proposes using the date of passing the higher qualification required for full eligibility for promotion to determine seniority, in addition to the date of appointment.
The Department plans to introduce the position of Vice-Principal, equal in number to the Principals (Higher Secondary School), without any financial implications. However, to align with cadre strength, there’s a proposed decrease in the percentage of Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) eligible for promotion to Principals from 20 percent to 5 percent.
Furthermore, the Department intends to reserve two percent of Lecturers for deputation purposes, two percent for training, and two percent for leave purposes, totaling 616 Lecturers for temporary replacements to address staffing gaps. This move comes after the teaching strength was increased to 10,330 from 6,255 in 2019.
It’s worth noting that the update to the Jammu and Kashmir School Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules 2010 was discussed in a committee, with the draft rules and changes being notified following thorough discussions and consideration of member suggestions.
However, some Headmasters, ZEOs, and ZEPOs have expressed concerns and confusion regarding proposed changes in class-III category (G) ZEO/Sr Head Master and Class-IV category-(A) HM/ZEPO of schedule-II. There appear to be discrepancies in the pay scales for these positions between schedule-I and schedule-II, leading to reservations about promotion prospects for Sr HM/ZEOs to the post of Principal, which is proposed to decrease from 20 percent to 5 percent.
