NEW DELHI: In a major relief for lakhs of unqualified teachers, the Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill seeking to give 8.5 lakh unqualified teachers another chance to get recognized degrees. These teachers were appointed after implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) law in the year 2010.
The amendment bill gives the teachers the final chance till March, 2019 to get degrees or they may be in danger of losing jobs.
Union human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar said that unqualified teachers were recruited when the RTE Act was implemented in 2010. They were given five years to get qualified for their profession. Still, six lakh private school teachers and 2.5 lakh government school teachers continue to educate without proper qualification, the minister added.
Javadekar said the recently-launched 'Swayam' portal and HRD ministry's free-to-air DTH channels can help such teachers get educational material. “Swayam platform is proving to be productive. People are learning through this platform. This platform is being used as study centre,” he added.
Responding to views and suggestions made by various members during the debate, the minister said the government is ready for dialogue on how to improve the quality of education, both inside and outside Parliament.
The bill was supported by K V Thomas of Congress. Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena) said while education is compulsory, it is necessary that standards are the same across the country, failing which the law will not serve its purpose.
Issues in Lok Sabha
Maheish Girri, East Delhi BJP member in the Lok Sabha demanded dismissal of the Arvind Kejriwal government in the national capital, accusing it of ‘incompetence’ in dealing with civic affairs. “President's rule should be imposed in Delhi as the local government had failed to deal with the day-to-day problems here,” he said.
In another development, a demand was made in the Lok Sabha by a Congress member for repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from north eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Congress member Ninog Ering also took a dig at the government for its agreement with NSCN(I-M) militant outfit reached about two years back, saying its details were shrouded in secrecy.
Taking a jibe he said, “There were two big secrets - Why Kattappa killed Baahubali and what was the agreement between the central government and NSCN (I-M). We got the answer why Kattappa killed Baahubali but nobody knows about that agreement...I asked about that but nobody replied,” he said.