Srinagar, Oct 30: The Minister for Health & Medical Education, Social Welfare, and Education, Sakinaa Masood Itoo on Wednesday clarified that the government has no plans to revive the Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) scheme, which was originally launched in 2002.
Speaking to Rising Kashmir, the minister said that the scheme was designed for a specific period and was no longer under consideration for reimplementation.
“The ReT scheme was introduced during Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s government to address the shortage of teachers in border and far-flung areas. At that time, many schools were non-functional due to a lack of staff, and the ReT teachers were recruited to reopen these schools. The program also helped curb unemployment among the youth,” she said.
The Education Minister Sakina further said that the ReT teachers played a vital role in educating students in those underserved areas, but the scheme was not based on merit competition.
“It was a need-based initiative to tackle the crisis of closed schools and to provide employment opportunities,” she added.
She also confirmed that currently, there is no demand for reopening closed schools that would justify reviving the ReT scheme.
“As of now, there is no proposal to bring back this scheme. However, the government will continue to assess the needs of the people and take necessary steps in the future based on those needs,” she said.
Earlier on Tuesday announced the approval of advertisements for 575 lecturer positions in various streams within the School Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a post on X, Sakina Itoo wrote, “We have started to fulfil the promise of Hon’ble CM Jb @OmarAbdullah Sb with regard to providing jobs to unemployed youth of J&K. I have approved the advertisement of 575 (+2) lecturers of different streams, in the School Education Department. The posts are being referred to JKPSC.”
She said this move aims to boost employment opportunities for the region’s youth and aligns with the government’s commitment to strengthening the education sector.
