Suhail Khan
Srinagar, Sep 21: More than five months after the Supreme Court of India ruled in favour of empanelled ReT (Rehbar-e-Taleem teacher) candidates and granted eight weeks to the Jammu and Kashmir government to implement the order, the education department is yet to act, leaving hundreds of aspirants in limbo.
The candidates, many of whom have been fighting a legal battle for over two decades, say they are running from pillar to post with court orders in hand, but no authority is willing to listen.
Yasmeena Akhtar, a resident of Bandipora who has been fighting the legal battle for two decades told Kashmir Convener that she has just six months left before she becomes overage. “I have been running from pillar to post for 24 years. Every morning I wake up hoping that today the order will be implemented, and every evening I go to bed disappointed. My dream of becoming a teacher is fading away with each passing day,” she said.
“I have sacrificed my youth for this fight. My family has suffered with me. Now, with only six months left before I cross the age limit, I don’t know what will happen to my future. Is this what justice looks like?” she asked.
Mudasir Rather, an aspirant from Kreeri, said, It is really injustice to us. Despite the Supreme Court order in our favour, it is not being implemented on the ground. We are suffering, we are struggling — whom do we complain to? We have approached every authority concerned, but nobody is listening to us.
Every day we come to know that the file is pending in one office or the other. The government should understand that our entire lives are hanging in the balance. We have no other source of livelihood, and this was our only hope, Rather added.
A female aspirant from Sopore, requesting anonymity, said she completed her education years ago and has been waiting for her engagement order since then. My parents are ageing, and I have no means to support my family. The Supreme Court has already given its verdict in our favour, so why is the government hesitating to implement it? she said.
Another candidate from Baramulla said, We voted for a government that promised transparency and justice. But here we are, running from office to office with court orders in our hands, and yet no one is ready to listen. If the Supreme Court’s order is not implemented, what is the point of approaching courts?
An aspirant from Kupwara said the panels were prepared before 2018. The Supreme Court has clearly said that those whose panels were prepared before 2018 should be engaged. We are not asking for any favour; we are asking for what is rightfully ours. The delay is killing our morale, the aspirant said.
Several other aspirants narrated similar stories and appealed to the higher-ups to look into the matter at the earliest.
One aspirant from Uri recently died while waiting for his engagement order. Who will take care of his family now? What justice will the system provide to his family? Is this the justice he waited years for? an aspirant asked.
Meanwhile, The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday clarified its stance on pensionary benefits for Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers, ruling out the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for those regularised after January 1, 2010, while confirming that the initial five years of pre-regularisation service will be counted for retirement benefits.
Replying to a starred question by MLA Reyaz Ahmad Khan (Shangus, Anantnag East) in the Assembly, the School Education Department as per Kashmir Convener stated that while the government intends to consider the entire service period of ReT teachers for pensionary benefits, the applicability of pension schemes is strictly date-dependent.
“The Government, vide Cabinet Decision No. 115/09/2014 dated 19.06.2014, has already accorded sanction to count the initial five years of pre-regularisation services rendered on honorarium basis by Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers, on a notional basis, as qualifying service for pensionary and other retirement benefits,” the official reply stated, citing Government Order No. 469-Edu of 2014 dated 25.06.2014.
However, addressing the specific demand for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), the government clarified that the scheme is only applicable to a specific cohort.
“ReT teachers who were regularized before 01.01.2010 fall under the OPS, whereas ReTs who were regularized after 01.01.2010 fall under the NPS (New Pension Scheme),” the reply stated.
The government cited SRO-400 dated 24.10.2009 and Finance Department’s OM No. A/Misc/2012/F/466 dated 20.04.2012 to justify the classification, effectively denying OPS to those appointed initially under the ReT scheme but regularised after the cutoff date.
Notably, The ReT Scheme was launched in J&K in 2000. Around 39,000 teachers were recruited under the scheme till 2017. The scheme was closed by the State Administrative Council vide government order number 919-Edu of 2018 dated November 16, 2018. All advertisement notices were withdrawn where engagement orders had not been issued.
The order was challenged in the High Court of J&K, which ruled in favour of candidates whose panels were approved. The High Court order was subsequently challenged in the Supreme Court vide SLP to Appeal (C) No. 12210/2023.
The Supreme Court gave its final judgment in favour of candidates whose panels were prepared before 2018, granting eight weeks to the state government to implement the order. More than five months later, the order remains unimplemented, leaving hundreds of aspirants in the lurch.
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