Editor,
A recent news video by one of the reputed news channel brought focus on the situation of teachers engaged under the Mukhya Mantri Shiksha Kosh Yojana (MMSKY). In the video, the reporter raised concerns over the condition of guest teachers who were appointed under this scheme. It was shown that they face several hardships, such as irregular salary disbursements, working in remote and difficult postings, and surviving without pay for two to four months at a stretch. These difficulties are indeed genuine and cannot be denied.
However, from this situation has emerged a new demand. Many of these guest teachers are now asking for job security, which directly points towards regularisation of their services. This demand is surprising because it goes beyond the very foundation of the scheme. As gathered from government notifications and reports, the MMSKY was launched in 2022 as a stop-gap arrangement to address acute shortage of teachers in higher secondary schools. The government approved engagement of guest faculty members on a purely temporary basis, with fixed honorarium of Rs 25,000 per month, and the appointment letters clearly mention that these posts carry no claim to regular service.
By August 2023, a total of 752 guest faculties were already appointed across the state through this mechanism. In several districts, walk-in interviews were conducted for these posts, and as is often the case in such direct recruitments, elements of bias and favouritism were bound to play a role. This cannot be compared to the rigorous and competitive process conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC).
It is here that the concern of unemployed TGT and PGT aspirants arises. These aspirants have been waiting for years, preparing day and night to secure recruitment through the APPSC, which is the only constitutional and transparent body for teachers’ appointments in the state.
Regularisation of MMSKY guest teachers will directly or indirectly affect future vacancies to be advertised through the APPSC. In effect, it will make the entire system of competitive recruitment meaningless, because a person appointed on a temporary basis through a short interview would gain the same benefit as someone who has struggled for years to succeed in the examination hall.
The larger fear among aspirants is that if such demands are entertained, it would set a dangerous precedent. Tomorrow, anyone working under any temporary scheme may raise the same claim, and the government would be under pressure to oblige. In such a situation, the principle of equal opportunity collapses, the credibility of the APPSC is eroded, and the very faith of the youths in the system gets shaken. For aspirants who have spent years in preparation, the idea that backdoor entry can replace fair competition is not only unjust but also heartbreaking.
The unemployed TGT and PGT aspirants appeal to the government to uphold the sanctity of the recruitment system and to stand firm against demands that are outside the scope of the scheme itself. Guest teachers’ hardships may deserve solutions, but regularisation at the cost of genuine aspirants cannot be one of them.
Unemployed TGT/PGT aspirants