Revert 854 headmasters; AOGSTU tells Orissa govt

Bhubaneswar, May 23 (UNI) All Orissa Government Secondary School Teachers' Union (AOGSTU) today demanded immediate reversion of 854 ineligible Headmasters appointed ''illegally'' violating the Board of Secondary Education rule.

AOGSTU general secretary Kalpana Das said the union also demanded the government prepare a gradation list of Senior Subordinate Education Service Headmasters and promote them to Orissa Education service Class II post.

Ms Das said the rule, which came into force from April 29,1977, stated that only a person with seven years of experience as a trained graduate teacher could be promoted as a Headmaster.

But 854 Headmasters were promoted to the post though they did not fulfil the criteria, she said.

AOGSTU secretary lamented that though the Supreme Court, High Court, State Administrative Tribunal in their judgments had declared the appointment of these Headmasters as illegal and directed the government to revert them to the post of assistant teachers, no step had been taken in this regard.

She said the government reverted these Headmasters in 2002 to the posts of assistant teachers after the Supreme Court ruled these appointment as invalid.

But in January 2003, the government rehabilitated them as Headmasters to their former posts violating the orders of the SAT,High Court and Supreme Court.

The Orissa Administrative Tribunal (OAT)in an order in January 2007 declared the decision of the government as unlawful and suggested the government hand over the charge of the high schools to senior teachers.

But even after 15 months the government had not yet complied with the order,she alleged.

Meanwhile, some affected Headmasters moved the High Court seeking an order not to revert them.The High Court in its order on May 5 said the order of the OAT is in force and the government could take a decision on the issue excluding the petitioners.

The union has already apprised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, School and Mass Education Minister Sanjeeb Sahu and senior officials of the recent judgment and urged the government to revert the Headmasters immediately.

UNI BD-DP PL RC GC1653