Question : CONTRACTUAL TEMPORARY TEACHERS

(a) whether the Government has made any survey with regard to teachers needed to fully implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether there is a huge shortage of trained teachers in the country and if so, the details thereof, State-wise;

(c) whether the Right to Education (RTE) provides for recruitment of trained teachers only and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether it is true that the appointment related problems of the contractual/temporary teachers appointed under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) still persists thereby leading to their dark future and if so, the details thereof;

(e) whether most of the States have hired a large number of contractual/temporary teachers and if so, the details of the States which have asked for relaxation of rules in view of severe shortage of trained teachers; and

(f) the steps taken by the Government to regularize the services of contractual/ temporary teachers?

MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (f) : No, Madam. Teachers` posts at elementary level are based on the norms as per the schedule to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

As per Unified District Information System for Education(UDISE) data, teachers at elementary level in Government schools are professionally qualified in 17 States/UTs, viz, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep .Punjab, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Telangana & Tamil Nadu. The National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), the authority notified under the RTE Act, 2009 for the purpose, has laid down minimum professional as well as educational qualification for a person to become a teacher at elementary level. In addition, he/she has also to pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to be conducted by the appropriate government.

Where a State does not have adequate institutions for adequate teachers possessing minimum qualifications, to be available, the Central Government has where necessary, by notification, relaxed the minimum qualifications required for appointment of teacher, for a period not exceeding five years, as per the RTE Act. 13 States namely Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have been provided relaxations under the RTE Act, 2009.

However, the Central government has provided funds to States/UTs for the training of the untrained teachers to acquire professional qualifications, as approved by the NCTE, through Open Distance Learning Mode in the above cases.

The service conditions of teachers are in the domain of State/UT governments and not the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Programme.