Odisha: Blind aspirants decry ‘unfair treatment’ in leave teacher reserve recruitment

Although the posts are open for PwDs and ‘low vision with suitable aid’, visually-challenged candidates have been kept out of the eligibility criteria.
Representational image.
Representational image.Express Illustrations.
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BHUBANESWAR: Blind aspirants for teaching posts in government schools have resented their exemption from the recruitment process for leave teacher reserve (LTR) posts in School and Mass Education department.

The Odisha Staff Selection Commission had recently advertised for recruitment of 6,025 posts of LTR teachers for government secondary schools. Although the posts are open for PwDs and ‘low vision with suitable aid’, visually-challenged candidates have been kept out of the eligibility criteria.

A group of blind aspirants in a petition to the state commissioner for PwDs have said that this is in violation of the Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. The section mandates that four per cent of the total vacancies in government establishments be reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities including one per cent for persons with blindness and low vision.

The Orissa High Court had also in 2023 directed the state government for inclusion of blind persons in recruitment processes in compliance with the provisions of the Act.

The aspirants alleged that exclusion of blind students from the LTR recruitment process not only contravenes the above-mentioned statutory provision but also denies an equitable opportunity to a marginalised section of the society.

Under the LTR, the department plans to recruit teachers in arts, science (PCM and CBZ), Hindi, Sanskrit and Telugu besides PETs. Of the 6,025 posts, 213 are reserved for PwDs of which, 70 are for women candidates. PwD candidates who can hear, speak, read and write along with the required educational qualifications are also eligible to apply without reservation.

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