The state government has asked for a report from the GTA on an
allegation that the hill body didn't follow reservation rules in
appointing 570 primary school teachers.
The Bengal backward classes welfare department didn't set a
time-frame for the GTA to submit the report on the allegation that only
70 Scheduled Caste candidates had been appointed as teachers, while the
number as mandated by the quota law is 127.
The GTA had issued appointment letters to the 570 primary school
teachers in March 2013. Even though the interviews for the posts were
held in 2002 by the erstwhile DGHC, it didn't appoint the teachers for
reasons never explained.
The assistant commissioner for reservation and ex-officio assistant
secretary, backward classes welfare department, has asked the GTA to
send the report to his office stating that the All India Nepali
Scheduled Castes Association had made a representation to chief minister
Mamata Banerjee, alleging that the 100-point roster system was not
followed by the GTA during the appointment of the primary teachers.
"It has been mentioned in the above representation (made by the
Scheduled Caste association) that the GTA authorities ... had issued 570
appointment letters to primary teachers in the month of March 2013,
whereas, as per 100 point roster, which is mandatory as per Act, 127
posts should have been filled up by SC candidates but only 70 SC
candidates had been appointed for primary teachers leaving solitary
exception of 57 SC candidates," read a letter sent by the assistant
commissioner for reservation to the GTA.
The letter was sent to the GTA on February 26, 2015.
The association alleged that the GTA had flouted the provisions of
the West Bengal Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (reservation of
vacancies in services and posts) Act, 1976.
According to the 100-point roster system, 22 per cent of jobs have to
be reserved for SCs and 6 per cent for STs. Members of the Other
Backward Classes also enjoy a quota of 27 per cent in Bengal. Going by
calculation, 22 per cent of 570 is 125.4, which could be rounded out to
126. Its not known why the association said the SC community was
entitled to 127 posts.
No other community has made any complaints regarding the non-compliance of the reservation rules in teachers' recruitment.
G.N. Lomjel, general secretary of the association, said: "We have
raised the issue as this safeguard is given to us by the Constitution.
We had earlier approached the GTA but we did not get a positive
feedback."
The assistant commissioner's office also directed the GTA to maintain
a "register of appointment" and submit it to the district magistrate,
who is also the district commissioner for reservation, for proper
assessment and authentication.
"It is mandatory to all appointing authority to maintain a register
of appointment and submit the same to the district magistrate &
district commissioner for reservation for proper assessment and proper
authentication," the letter said.
Roshan Giri, the executive GTA Sabha member in charge of education,
however, said today: "As far as I know, we have followed all norms."
Sources in the GTA said the hill body had not yet forwarded the report to the assistant commissioner's office.
After the 570 teachers had been appointed in March 2013, the GTA
Sabha passed a resolution on July 14, 2013, favouring reservations not
only in the GTA jobs but also in the GTA elections according to the
100-point roster system.
In the 2012 GTA elections, none of the 45 seats of the hill body was reserved for any community.
The Telegraph
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