The evaluation pattern, seemed standard for a government job, making Hindi proficiency a mandatory criterion to pass raised many concerns.
Published Jul 25, 2024 | 2:33 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 25, 2024 | 2:33 PM
Tiruchi Siva. (X)
DMK MP Tiruchi Siva on Thursday, 25 July, urged the government to hand back the responsibility of staff recruitment for the Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) to state governments.
Speaking during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Siva cited concerns over decreased student engagement due to the hiring of individuals from North India for schools in the South.
The MP highlighted the inefficiencies arising from the recent shift in recruitment from state governments to the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS).
According to Siva, this centralised approach, aimed at addressing teacher shortages across 400 EMRS by filling 38,000 positions nationally, has led to unintended consequences.
“The first batch of 303 principals, 707 junior secretarial assistants, and other staff now primarily consists of individuals from North Indian states appointed across South India,” Siva said.
He argued that this mismatch is detrimental to education, where understanding local tribal culture and context is crucial.
The DMK leader pointed out that the mandatory Hindi requirement in hiring criteria has resulted in communication gaps, affecting teaching effectiveness. “New staff members are burdened with learning the local language within two years,” he added.
Siva urged the government to revert the recruitment responsibility to respective state governments.
“Education is on the concurrent list. I urge the government to bring it back to the state list,” he emphasised, calling for serious consideration of the issue.
Earlier, the EMRS staff were outsourced locally on a contract basis. With the new system, candidates must now pass three rounds of evaluation: A preliminary paper, a main paper, and an interview.
While the evaluation pattern seemed standard for a government job, making Hindi proficiency a mandatory criterion to pass has raised many concerns.
Apart from English, the medium of instruction, and the subject the candidate was to teach, each applicant has been mandated to have a degree of proficiency in Hindi, regardless of their state of domicile, or where they would be posted. Competence in Hindi has become a mandatory yardstick since 2023.
The decision has resulted in a disproportionate number of recruits from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana, cutting short the strength of non-Hindi-speaking teachers. Reports of teachers switching to Hindi mid-lecture further added to the concerns of parents, and students.
Many candidates hailing from the Hindi heartland who are teaching in non-Hindi states have requested transfers, some even foregoing the job.
The increasing demand for transfers resulted in a notification asking candidates not to approach any NESTS Centre with transfer requests until a transfer policy is in place.
(With PTI inputs)
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