Complex Rules Hurt Good Schemes

Suresh Sharma

(The writer is based in Dharamshala)

Famous Hindi proverb ‘na nau mann tel hoga, na Radha nachegi’ fits aptly on the state government’s Mukhyamantri Shikshak Sammaan Yojana. There is a provision of service extension for government teachers, headmasters and principals for giving exceptional results in board exams. However service extension to teachers will be given only if a teacher provides 90% result in one’s subject for continuous five years with the limit kept from academic session 2012-13 to 2016-17 under the scheme. Besides this, a teacher will be eligible for service extension if his fellow teacher has also given 90% result in his subject and the students who are pass in his class have secured more than 60% marks. Headmaster and principals will be eligible for the honour only if the result of two other subjects is more than 90% in their school. The underlying question here is that is it possible to meet so many conditions to be eligible under this scheme?

The Education Department had set a deadline of June 30, 2017 to apply for this scheme. However the department has not got any application for this honour or extension in service till now. Under this scheme, selection of any trained graduate teacher of Mathematics, English and Science subjects, PGT teacher and head of a school seems to impossible. Aim of this scheme is to encourage honest and hard working teachers. But the rules and conditions set to be eligible are doing just the opposite.

One another thing that needs attention here is that why teachers of three subjects only are eligible for the honour? Does other subjects have no importance? Teachers of other subjects too put in similar hard work, effort and work with same honesty in imparting education and training. Role of social, moral, mental, creative activities and its organisers is equally important as is the role of curriculum subjects in character building of a student. Giving 100% result in a particular subject for continuous five years is a commendable feat for a teacher. But here one more question arises which teacher serves in the same school for continuous five years. Exam results also depend on ease of availability of material sources, administrative reasons, level of students and social and political atmosphere. The department should keep a check on its academic staff. Shirkers should be punished and hard workers should be honoured accordingly. Make such conditions that a teacher need not to apply for his brilliant performance. But vigil eyes of administration should have knowledge of their performers and non performers. The objective of mukhyamantri shikshak sammaan yojana is exemplary in this perspective but stringent rules and regulations are killing the soul of the scheme.

Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘Divya Himachal TV’. Also,  Download our Android App