Adhocism in School Education – A curse

Omkar Dattatray

The school education department is suffering from the curse and problem of inchargeism. The problem of inchargism and adhocism is the bane of the education department. In fact this inchargism and adhocism is not a new phenomenon but it is an old malady which is eating the very vitals of the department and the people at the helm of authority are not taking interest in solving this problem which has assumed gigantic proportions'. The virus of Inchargism has become more lethal and deadly than Coronavirus and its epicentre is education department.  It all commenced with the change in the school education system from core and elective to the ten plus two system of education. It was as far back as the year 1975 that the post graduate teachers and masters where elevated as senior masters and those with trained graduates Degrees where promoted as head masters and additional head masters and BEOs and now known as ZEOs. All these elevations where done on stop gap arrangements and not on regular basis and this malady continues even today. The fact is that no regular incumbents where appointed except those who entered in the department through PSC and this process of elevating the post graduate masters and teachers to the gazetted posts where done on temporary basis and this has rotten the department and all the incharge incumbents are facing the music. This inchargism and adhocism is eating the very vitals of the department. This adhoc and stop gap arrangement is a violation of the service rules and the negation of the judgements of the Supreme Court as it violates the rule of equal pay for equal work. The incharge incumbents are paid charge allowances and they work on their own pay and grade known as (OPG). It is very unfortunate that there is adhocism and inchargism from the bottom to top of the education department as all the officers from the level of lecturers up to the level of joint directors are working on incharge basis and this is a sorry state of affairs and should now be stopped for the interest of the department and the inchargees. This inchargism has plagued the education department and there seems no way out from it. There is no regular policy of the promotions in the school education department and the results are before us  and are demoralising. It is very unfortunate that some of the incharge incumbents are not regularised during their service and some are regularised after their death. It fallows that some of the incharge officers in the department retire in the incharge capacity and it is a huge loss to these inchargees. This is a serious problem and the authorities at the helm of affairs should pay a heed to it and solve this problem once for all. There is inchargism in both teaching and administrative categories and they are forced to taste this bitter pill of inchargism. There is no policy in the education department to regularise the incharge officers and even after putting of 10 to 20 years in the incharge capacity they are left to rotten. In 1975 with the onset of the 10+2 system, the teachers, masters with post graduation were promoted as senior masters and in the administrative capacity at high school level as head masters and additional head masters. After some time the nomenclature of the senior master was changed to junior lecturers and then to lecturers 10+2. The incharge lecturers, head masters, ZEO's, Principle's and equivalent, CEO's & equivalent and joint directors are working in the incharge capacity and this is a serious problem which affects the morale of these officers and their efficiency as they have to work for pretty long time in the incharge capacity. It is sad that no regular seniority lists are maintained in the school education department and the tentative seniority lists are fluctuating lists as they often change and there is no permanency in these lists. It would have been better if the date of passing of the post graduating will be considered for the seniority and this will put a brake in the fluctuating of these lists .In fact the department is plagued with the inchargism and steps should be taken to regularise the incharge incumbents both teaching and administrative at the earliest. It is very sad that the incharge officers are asked time and again to fulfil the formalities and this is not possible for those who have retired. The need of the hour is that the department should regularise all the incharge incumbents without referring them to the PSC as a onetime exception. Now that Dr Samoon has taken as the commissioner secretary  of school education and it is hoped that he will look into the matter and issue the regularisation orders of all incharge incumbants right from the entry level of lecturers up to the level of CEO's and equivalent and up to Joint Director's post. The need of the hour is to give a good bye to the adhoc system of promotions. Future promotions should not be given on stop gap arrangements but on regular basis and this will be a historical development of the education department. It will boost the morale of the teaching and administrative officers. It is appealed to the education commissioner to give a heed to the problem of inchargism and issue orders for regularisation of all the in-charge officers so that the domiciles sword will not hang on their heads as at present. Since the department has now a pro active commissioner and it is hoped that he will bell the cat and will consider this serious problem and will issue the regularisation orders of all the in-charge incumbents