UDHAMPUR, Oct 4: The Jammu Kashmir Teachers’ Joint Action Committee (JKTJAC) held its monthly meeting at Udhampur today under the leadership of UT President Vinod Sharma and District President Udhampur Lekh Raj Parihar. The meeting was attended by executive members of JKTJAC representing various zones of District Udhampur.
Speaking on the occasion, Vinod Sharma demanded implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for all Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers who were appointed before January 1, 2010, and subsequently regularised as General Line Teachers after 2010. He said that at the time of their appointment as ReTs, the Old Pension Scheme was applicable and there was no mention of the National Pension System (NPS). He argued that such teachers should therefore be brought under the OPS and also demanded implementation of Government Order No. 305 in their favour.
Sharma appealed to the Chief Minister and Education Minister to consider the issue sympathetically, stating that the matter concerns the welfare of thousands of ReT teachers across Jammu and Kashmir.
He also highlighted the issue of pending Mid Day Meal dues, stating that teachers had been managing expenses from their own pockets for more than eight months. He said teachers were now finding it difficult to continue bearing these expenses, which could adversely affect the implementation of the Poshan Scheme in schools. He urged the concerned authorities to intervene and ensure the immediate release of all pending dues.
Another major demand was the issuance of Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) orders for promotion of teachers to the post of masters. Sharma appealed to the Director School Education Jammu to initiate the process, pointing out that several posts of masters are lying vacant while many teachers have remained in the same cadre for more than two decades, resulting in prolonged stagnation.
The JKTJAC leadership also raised several other issues concerning teachers. These included the regularisation of EV-converted ReTs whose files are pending in the Administrative Department; extension of exemption benefits to teachers and masters who had initiated their higher qualifications before the issuance of Government Order No. 188 but completed them afterwards; sanctioning of posts of masters in Middle Schools upgraded under the SSA; issuance of a transfer policy for teachers appointed under the ReT scheme; and acceptance of undergraduate degrees acquired by teachers during service through post-facto permission so that eligible teachers can be converted to Teacher Grade-II.
Speaking on the occasion, District President Lekh Raj Parihar appealed to the Chief Education Officer, Udhampur, to issue necessary directions to Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) for completing the service records of teachers. He also demanded transparency in the ongoing rationalisation process and urged authorities to ensure that a pick-and-choose policy is not adopted.
Parihar further demanded the issuance of DDO powers to headless zones and schools so that the salaries of employees can be released without unnecessary delays.
Several other JKTJAC members also spoke during the meeting, including Sham Sharma, UT Chief Finance Secretary; Sukesh Khajuria, UT Chief Press and Media Secretary; Ashok Seth, Provincial Vice President; Pritam Goswami, Provincial Finance Secretary; Ravinder Singh Rathore, General Secretary; Anil Sharma; Sham Singh; Manoj Sharma; Vipin Raina; Jagdish Chander Sharma; Parshant Sharma; Vidhi Lal; Jai Parkash Dogra; Ajay Sharma; Rajiv Sharma; Yash Paul; Om Parkash; Rakesh Singh; Sanjay Sharma; Vabal Singh; Sudesh Kumar; Som Raj; Raj Kumar Pathania; Madan Bhardwaj; Ravinder Atri; Ajay Kumar; Rinku Sharma, and others.
The committee reiterated its resolve to pursue the pending issues of the teaching community and urged the government and education authorities to take timely measures to address their genuine demands.