Dear Editor,
As per the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) notification dated 23rd August 2010, teachers (PR and TG) teaching in schools, must have Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) certificate. This is in along the similar line of National Eligibility Test (NET) required to become a lecturer/assistant professor in colleges.
Following this notification which is a part of RTE Act, Chief Minister Pema Khandu had announced during International Yoga day on 21st June, 2017 at Indira Gandhi Park that SSA teachers will be regularized, provided they need to qualify TET (APTET/CTET). This decision of the CM was seen as another bold step to improve the quality of education in Arunachal which is lagging far behind as compared to other states in literacy rate.
As per the official statement released in the Arunachal Times on 22nd November 2017 by the then Special Secretary Education, Mitali Namchoom, the regularization of SSA teachers with APTET/CTET was to be based on seniority of appointments in the service. She had further claimed that the department shall strictly follow the seniority norm while regularizing these teachers.
However on 7th December 2017, the Department of Elementary Education, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh came out with a shocking appointment orders for the regularization of 135 teachers flouting all norms of seniority as opposed to the earlier statement of the then Special Secretary Education.
Dramatically, this development just came after the transfer of Special Secretary Education who was trying to streamline the system in place. This is a common phenomenon in Arunachal where strong and honest officers are removed just as in Hindi movie styles for their integrity. No doubt, the said regularization of teachers dated 7th December was based on pick and choose which can be ascertained from the fact that SSA teachers with APTET/CTET who were appointed in 2016 also got regularized leaving their seniors in shock.
Few of the deprived teachers lodge their protest against this illegal appointment and submitted a representation to the Chief Secretary demanding to observe seniority while regularizing these TET qualified SSA teachers. The Chief Secretary in turn has promised to cancel the said illegal appointments.
Hence, we the deprived teachers appeal our honorable CM to intervene and immediately cancel the said illegal appointment, constitute an SIT to unearth the truth behind such appointments and hand over the SSA-APTET/CTET file to an independent body like APPSC for listing out genuine candidates as per seniority and regularize SSA-APTET/CTET teachers. We have no more faith in department of education, Govt.of Arunachal Pradesh.
Yours,
Aggrieved SSA-APTET/CTET candidates