Catch 22 for govt: Deadline for promoting teachers ends Sunday

The Haryana elementary education department on Monday summoned records of all affected teachers posted in schools across the state, but could not reach a decision on the next step. "We have not yet decided whether any action should be taken against those recruited in 2000, or whether they should be promoted. We are still waiting for a copy of the judgment of the CBI court in Delhi," Abhey Singh Yadav, elementary education director, said.

The junior basic trained (JBT) teachers had moved the high court in December 2010 demanding promotions and seniority benefits from the government. On September 27, 2012, the court gave four months to the government to promote the eligible petitioners. The deadline runs out on January 27.

Roshan Lal Panwar, one of the petitioners, who is posted in Kaithal district, told The Indian Express, "I did not pay anyone for a job, and several others I know didn't either. We were due to be promoted in 2008. But the government refused, citing pendency of a case pertaining to JBT recruitments of 2000, so 75 of us went to the high court. The court ruled in our favour but the state government is yet to act on it."

Another JBT teacher, Harikesh Dalal, posted at Jind, said, "The government has already checked our documents twice. Nothing objectionable was found. The test for our recruitment was conducted under Bansi Lal's government, and we were recruited during Chautala's regime. Is that why we are being tainted? There may be discrepancies in the recruitment, but all candidates can't be made to suffer. The CBI should find the people who paid to get jobs."

JBT teacher Baljit Punia, who is posted at Hisar, said, "The recruitment issue was more of a tussle between (the then director of primary education) Sanjiv Kumar and the Chautala government. We did not pay anyone to get jobs. We were never made a party to the case by any court. For the last 13 years we have been doing our duty."

Several other cases pertaining to the same teachers recruitment scam are pending in courts, including one filed by candidates who did not get selected.

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