Hyderabad: The AP and TS government are facing hardships in implementing the unified service rules for teachers in view of the pending contempt cases and filing of fresh cases challenging the constitutional validity of the Presidential assent that was given last month.
The Presidential as-sent provides unified service rules for teachers working in schools run by the Telangana state and AP governments and the Panchayat Raj department of the two states.
Both the governments hope that the Hyderabad High Court will give clarity on the issue on Monday when it decides on taking up for hearing petitions against the amendment to the Presidential Order for introduction of unified service rules.
For long, as many as 3 lakh teachers working in Panchayat Raj schools in both states have been demanding unified service rules, which is being opposed by about 42,000 teachers working in state government schools.
Mr G. Vishwanat-ham Gupta, honorary president of the State Government Teachers Associations of AP and Telangana, said the move was unconstitutional. It curtails the promotional opportunities of government teachers and affects institutional autonomy of Pancha-yat Raj institutions, he said.
He said that under the separate rules, only government school teachers had promotional avenues up to lecturers in government junior colleges apart from posts like inspector of schools, deputy education and district education officers.
Panchayat Raj teachers can only be promoted as headmasters in zilla parishad and mandal parishad schools. Unified service rules will open up avenues that were open only to government teachers.
He said once unified service rules come into effect, government school teachers will have to share their promotional avenues with 3 lakh Panchayat Raj teachers.
Mr Sarotham Reddy, president of Pancha-yat Raj Teachers Association of TS, said they have been fighting for the integration of service rules for several years.
He said earlier orders of the government were struck down by the courts on the ground of not organising local cadres in panchayat raj schools. The Supreme Court permitted both governments on September 30, 2015, to send a proposal to the Centre for obtaining the approval of the President of India to integrate the services of teachers of Panchayat Raj schools, who are also government servants, with the existing local cadres of teachers.
Following the amendment to the Presidential Order, both the state governments issued gazette notifications. “We hope the court cannot intervene in the matter,” he said.
