Provincialised tutors slam CM’s ‘routine process’ remark, demand clarity on promotion

Doomdooma, Feb 22: The provincialized tutors across Assam have reacted sharply to the recent remark of the Chief Minister that the transition from tutor to teacher is a ‘routine process’ and that only those possessing BEd and TET qualifications would be eligible for appointment as teachers.

In a press statement, aggrieved tutors – Pradip Kumar Moran of Tinsukia, Charitra Gogoi of Dibrugarh and Atul Bora of Golaghat – expressed deep concern, stating that the comment has created anxiety among the tutors who have served the public education sector for the past 30-35 years, many of them initially without remuneration.

They pointed out that a large number of teachers who had long been rendering service in provincialized educational institutions were formally designated as ‘Tutors’ in 2021 and continue to work on a modest pay.

According to them, while the present framework terms them as tutors under existing norms, their original appointments were made decades ago by school managing committees and governing bodies in accordance with the rules then in force and duly recognized by the Education Department.

Referring to the Chief Minister’s observation that present norms – including the Right to Education Act, 2009, the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, and other central eligibility criteria – are now mandatory, the tutors argued that these provisions were not applicable at the time of their appointments, which predated 2009.

The tutors further stated that the prevailing provincialization law had provided a five-year window from the date of provincialisation to acquire the required qualifications, and the government’s white paper had also assured that adequate opportunities would be created for the same.

However, they alleged that while time was extended, the promised institutional support and facilities were not provided. Instead, the Assembly recently proposed extending the deadline to seven years.

They claimed that the failure to implement effective mechanisms for qualification upgradation has resulted in many tutors losing the professional dignity they once enjoyed as teachers. Several, they said, have already retired or even passed away while continuing under the downgraded designation of tutor.

The statement also recalled that a high-level meeting held on July 17, 2022 under the Chief Minister’s chairmanship had discussed enabling in-service teachers to obtain the required qualifications through an open and distance learning mode.

The proposed mechanism was to involve coordination among the Assam State Institute of Education Research and Training, the Secondary Education Department and Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University in line with NCERT norms.

The tutors alleged that even after four years, the plan has not been implemented at the ground level.

Instead, they noted, only a limited number of tutors were recently promoted following a subsequent meeting held on January 23, 2022.

Describing their situation as akin to a ‘demonetization-like shock,’ the tutors said that years of unpaid service rendered with full teacher status have not received due recognition. They maintained that instead of providing meaningful avenues to meet eligibility norms, the authorities have merely extended deadlines through amendments.

While welcoming reports that the Chief Minister is considering a wage hike for provincialized tutors amid rising prices, the tutors pointed out that under the existing provincialization framework, annual increments are capped at 6 per cent.