Teachers get one more chance to save jobs

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Providing respite to around 11 lakh teachers appointed till March 2015 under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, a bill was passed in Parliament on Tuesday, extending the date to acquire the minimum qualifications till 2019.

As per the existing Act that came into effect from April 1, 2010, teachers were required to get the requisite qualifications within five years by March 31, 2015.

However, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 1. The Lok Sabha had passed it on July 22.

Now, the amendment bill makes it mandatory for teachers appointed or in position as on March 2015 to get the minimum qualifications by 2019 and save their jobs.

When the RTE Act was implemented in 2010, new schools were set up but qualified teachers were not available and under qualified teachers, including those with graduation degrees, were reportedly recruited to the posts.

Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar recently said that around seven lakh teachers lacked basic qualification in private schools alone across the country.

There are around 1.5 lakh (teachers) who have completed one year of training. Besides, there are around 2.5 lakh teachers still in government stream. So, there are around 11 lakh teachers in total who are without proper qualification, said Javadekar.

Therefore, the government has brought this bill giving these teachers another chance to complete Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and other professional degrees, the HRD minister said, adding that the government will provide free education to these teachers through 'Swayam platform' beginning October 2.

Note:  Registration of teachers on 'Swayam’ portal will take place from August 15 to September 15, 2017
Under a scheme 'Swayam Prabha', teachers will not only be trained offline but also online and even through direct-to- home (DTH) television channels

There will be a moderate registration fee and course material will also be given in hard copy as well as in CD, while 12 days' face-to-face training in a year has also been planned

Besides, a four-year integrated teachers training course is on the anvil, which will be launched soon, said the BJP minister.

Worth mentioning, in Odisha only 79 per cent of teachers are qualified in comparison to states like Punjab and Karnataka with 88 per cent and 96 per cent of qualified teachers respectively.