Maharashtra government to recruit 50,000 teachers for state schools, says Kesarkar

PUNE: The Maharashtra government has decided to recruit 50,000 teachers for state schools, School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar said on Friday. He also claimed the dip in Maharashtra's ranking in the education Performance Grading Index was due to a new method of evaluation. Talking to reporters here, Kesarkar said 30,000 posts will be filled in the first phase and the remaining 20,000 in the second phase, he said.

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The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court had stayed the recruitment process, because of which there was a delay in hiring, he said. "The recruitment process for teachers will begin now and a government resolution to this effect will be issued," Kesarkar said. Some schools do not have enough teachers and to ensure that students are not inconvenienced, the education department has roped in retired teachers on a contractual basis till the new teachers are hired, he said. "As soon as the teachers are recruited, they will be posted at Zilla Parishad schools and aided institutions," the minister said. The state government is planning to start pre-primary classes in 17,000 schools, he added.

Speaking about Maharashtra slipping from 2nd position to 7th position in the education Performance Grading Index and concerns raised by Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on this, Kesarkar said the parameters have been changed now because the achievement of all the states had surpassed 90 per cent. "As per the new norms, no state could make a cut in the first five categories. Only Chandigarh and Punjab could secure sixth position, and all other states secured 7th position. This is a new method of evaluation," he explained. However, he said concerns raised by the NCP chief will be looked into. Kesarkar admitted the standard of aided schools, all of which are private, had gone down when compared to ZP schools.

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"These private (aided) schools do not get any help from the Central schemes, but government bears all the expenses of these schools. If these schools get government status, they will get all the schemes of the Union government," the minister said. A proposal sent to the Centre to help these schools by considering them as government schools has not be accepted, he added. The minister said his department had decided to use the "latest technology" while assessing the improvement of students. "If you see Kaun Banega Crorepati (quiz based television programme), there is a remote control-like device which is used by the audience to register their choice. A similar kind of technology will be in the hands of students while they give answers. This will help us assess correctly, and, accordingly, they will get guidance," he informed.