NEW DELHI: The government-aided schools in the city cannot have absolute authority in the staff recruitment process, stated a note prepared by the Directorate of Education (DoE). As per the note, to fix the issues in staff recruitment, district deputy directors of education, in a meeting, decided that the current setup needs to be reviewed. The DoE has stopped hiring for government-aided schools in Delhi for the past one month to revamp the recruitment process.
According to the present selection process, the aided- schools send a proposal to the DoE seeking approval to fill the vacant posts in the staff. After the necessary clearance is given, the post is filled by the management of the individual schools. Applications are invited by the committee and are selected by teachers. As per the current set up, there is a selection committee director’s nominee in the committee whose opinion is binding in the case of non-minority schools which the note states may influence the decisions of the committee. The DoE note states that complaints have been received alleging collusion between the selection committee and the school administration.
The department is irked by the management of aided schools as they allegedly advertise about the posts in newspapers in an “insignificant” manner with “small advertisements”. Candidates who are in the merit list are not called for interviews and there is no audit of the selection process during or post the selection, said the note. “In a nutshell, there is lack of transparency and objectivity in the entire process by and large on the part of management committees” states the report.
Overall, the note strongly recommends a policy decision to be taken for the recruitment of all the teaching and non-teaching staff through a fair process which is completely transparent, objective and takes into consideration merit. The state education department wants recruitment body like the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) to regulate the selection of teachers. Interestingly, in neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, the Board of Secondary and Higher Education, under the state government, controls of the staff recruitment.