Odisha government to recruit 20,000 teachers for primary and upper primary schools

Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Pattnaik engages with people in Bhubaneswar.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

In one of the biggest ever recruitment drives, the Odisha government has sought to fill up 20,000 vacancies in primary schools at one go.

These 20,000 junior teachers will be appointed in primary and upper primary schools in 30 districts across the State. The candidates will be selected on the basis of marks secured on a computer based test.

Prior to the recruitment drive, the State government had issued a guideline detailing mode of recruitment. These elementary teachers will be appointed through absorption of junior teachers (schematic) after three years of continuous and satisfactory service considered through a committee at the district level.

A junior teacher (schematic) will become eligible to be a junior teacher after three years of continuous and satisfactory service. Their service will be regularised after six years of engagement.

“All the functions of elementary education will be transferred in phases to zilla parishad and other Panchayati Raj Institutions. The engagement of all junior teachers (schematic) will be made by respective Zilla Parishads under each category. for Classes I to V and Classes VI to VIII under the programme of Samagra Sikshya,” says the State government guideline.

Teachers’ associations have opposed the policy of annual engagement. “The engagement will be on annual agreement basis. Agreement will be renewed in subsequent years depending on the performance of the candidates. Prior to renewal of the agreement of the junior teacher (schematic), the said teacher has to obtain a certificate from the concerned headmaster regarding regular attendance and satisfactory service which is to be produced before the Zilla Parishad,” the guideline says.

It says the junior teacher (schematic) can be disengaged from the service with a prior notice of 30 days, if she or he violates the conditions of the agreement on the basis of adverse report of the block education officer on un-authorised absence of misconduct or involvement in criminal cases.

When the Naveen Patnaik government had announced to do away with contractual appointments, the teachers’ bodies had pointed out that recruitment of junior teachers would be contractual in nature. As such a teacher’s fate would depend on whims and fancies of senior functionaries, they added.