Prime Minister Narendra Modi while honouring the teachers with the National Awards he has rightly called them a powerful force in nation building and termed the honouring the teachers as not merely a ritual but a recognition of their lifelong dedication and impact. His assessment that teachers not only shape the present but also mould the future of the nation making their role one of the highest forms of national service is undeniably the crux of the teaching profession when seen in terms of the national duty. Underlining the importance of teachers in accordance with the age-old Indian tradition, he lauded the role of teachers in India’s progress, stating that the nation has always revered the Guru-Shishya tradition. As in India a Guru is not merely a provider of knowledge but a guide for life. The Prime Minister emphasised that as we move forward with the vision of building a developed India, this tradition remains our strength. Teachers are living embodiments of this heritage. They not only impart literacy but also instil the spirit of living for the nation in the younger generation. He has pointed out that teachers are also to the timely changes in the syllabi and curricula and syllabi, enabling the alignment of education with the changing times. Underlining the policy of his government he said that this same spirit is reflected in the reforms being undertaken for the nation as reforms must be continuous and relevant to the times. Indeed, the Prime Minister has brought to the fore the ideal context that must be used to define the teacher and the teaching process but the things have gone murkier. As the teacher recruitment has been rendered into a mockery with the highly qualified youth who are more than eligible to teach by making them jobless or are being forced to teach on contractual basis in the universities, university campuses and colleges in Jammu and Kashmir. This temporary arrangement lasts for a semester and then a fresh interview is conducted. That results in the replacement of the teachers or if the contractual teacher is fortunate enough, he may be retained. The worst part is that when the recruitment process is conducted for a permanent post of an assistant professor, the experience of the teachers is not counted. That leaves the teachers in the wilderness. What compounds the problem is that the vacancies for the permanent posts are not notified regularly that leads to brain drain as this highly educated human resource that has already invested many years of their age in getting themselves educated are also ageing. That ultimately renders them redundant. This is slow poisoning of the potential brilliant teachers. The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)Jammu Bench has quashed the University of Jammu’s advertisement inviting fresh applications to replace the existing contractual faculty with another set of contractual appointees by terming it illegal and arbitrary. This order has been passed by a Bench comprising Judicial Member Rajinder Singh Dogra and Administrative Member Ram Mohan Johri when they were deciding similar cases filed by the contractual lecturers working on an academic arrangement in the different campuses of the University of Jammu. The CAT rejected the university’s contention that some of the applicants had appeared in the fresh selection process. Bench the participation of the candidates does not prevent them from challenging the illegality of the process. Giving relief to the contractual teachers, the Bench quashed, April 1 notification and directed that the petitioners shall continue on their posts till regular recruitment is made besides it has instructed the university to complete the regular recruitment within six months. This must give a sigh of relief to the suffering contractual teachers but on this Teacher’s Day there is need for policy revision to honour the teachers by ending the contractual system and giving these qualified teachers their due. The selection process after every semester in the universities is basically dishonouring the teachers. It must end.
