Delhi approves policy for guest teachers to continue till age of superannuation

The Delhi Cabinet Wednesday approved a policy to allow guest and contract teachers to continue in the job till they attain the age of superannuation so that schools can avail of their services uninterrupted. Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia said the cabinet in an emergency decided to adopt the policy and urged Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to give it a go-ahead.

"I request you to implement this policy immediately so that the phase of uncertainty which these guest and contract teachers face not just once a year but several times during a year comes to an end," Sisodia said in a letter to Baijal. According to the policy, the appointments of guest teachers in government school were necessitated to ensure uninterrupted education of children mandated under the Right to Education Act.

The cabinet decided that all guest and contract teachers who were roped in on merit basis in the past have been appointed until the date of notification of the policy and shall be entitled to its benefits. "All such teachers will continue to function with the DoE till they attain the age of superannuation as determined by the government for its regular teachers," the policy said.

Sisodia on Tuesday had accused Baijal of not "owning up" his responsibility on the issue of regularisation of guest teachers and alleged the delay in decision-making has impacted the education of lakhs of children. Sisodia's letter came against the backdrop of protests by guest teachers in the national capital. The government has convened an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday on the issue.

As many as 25,000 teachers are staring at uncertainty after their contracts ended on Feb 28. They have not yet been informed whether their services have been terminated or their contracts will be renewed. The Delhi government had passed a bill to regularise the employment of around 15,000 guest teachers (working on contractual basis) in government-run schools in October 2017.

The Delhi High Court had directed that guest teachers would continue in their services till Feb 28 or till the time regular teachers were appointed.

It gave the direction during the hearing of a plea filed by an NGO against the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board over the appointment of permanent teachers.