Srinagar: Dozens of leaders of Jammu and Kashmir Teachers Joint Action Committee (JKTJAC) led by it’s Vice Chairman Reyaz-u-Rehman and Genral Secretary Saleem Sagar, Saturday assembled near press gallery Srinagar and staged a peaceful protest against Integrated Multidisciplinary Professional Advancement Training (IMPACT) which is being imparted to a particular section of teachers (grade II and Grade III teachers) by Jammu and Kashmir Education Department. Terming IMPACT a discriminatory tool, the protesting leaders accused authorities that deliberately a particular cadre of teachers is being made target again and again for unknown reasons.
“It is pertinent to mention that the department of education has introduced a new training course IMPACT which is designed to train untrained teachers if existing in the department. “Ironically this training is being imparted to all grade II and Grade III teachers, despite the fact that more than 95% of them are trained teachers (having B.Ed. or D.El.Ed) and have got almost the teaching experience of more than seventeen years”, the protesters claimed.
Vice Chairman and General Secretary in a joint statement said, ” this particular section of teachers (Grade II and Grade III) is consisting of highly qualified teachers, who are working in the department from more than a decade and are performing their duties honesty with full dedication but we fail to understand why authorities hurt their sentiments again and again on the pretext of one thing or the other”.
The leaders said that they were never against trainings as the trainings enhance the teaching skills of teachers, and they have undergone dozens of trainings in past. But this time there seems a conspiracy in this training to degrade the dignity of highly qualified teachers. They further said that if the said training is really beneficial for teachers, then why the department has not brought all the teachers irrespective of their cadre to attend this IMPACT.
Both the leaders appealed authorities to bring a change in IMPACT and exclude the assessment phase from this course because assessing a particular cadre of teachers and leaving aside rest of teachers is in no way a fair treatment but it seems a discriminatory approach.
The leaders also said that there are near about hundred E.V converted Rets whose regularisation files are biting dust in the office of Worthy Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) from last one year, who have not been regularised and are without salaries from last one year. They claimed that that those teachers have performed their duties honesty during the tough times of covid lockdown. In addition to it various files of teachers having overlaping cases are also pending in DSEK, they added. They said instead of redressing the grievances of teachers department is harassing teachers by bringing forward IMPACT for them.
Both the leaders Vice chairman Reyaz-u-Rehman and Genral Secretary JKTJAC urged authorities to exclude assessment phase from IMPACT in order to give mental comfort to thousands of teachers. They also appealed worthy DSEK to redress the issues of all teachers including E.V converted ReTs and those having overlaping cases. They further said that if the authorities again turned their deaf ear to woes of teachers, then JKTJAC would intensity the agitation and the responsibility would be on the authorities.
