TET Resolution Passed, 6 Free LPG Cylinders Trigger Row

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)

• Speaker grills minister over delay in 'one officer, one vehicle' policy

• House rejects Bill on govt school enrolment for govt officials' children

Srinagar- The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly witnessed a series of key decisions and heated exchanges on Thursday, with the House passing a resolution seeking exemption of teachers appointed before October 31, 2019 from the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), while the government's announcement of six free LPG cylinders for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families triggered a sharp confrontation between the treasury benches and the opposition BJP.

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The Assembly also witnessed a discussion over the proposed revised government vehicle policy, with Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather questioning the Transport Minister over the delay in implementing the“one officer, one vehicle” principle.

The House further rejected a Private Members' Bill seeking mandatory enrolment of children of public representatives and government servants in government schools.

On the TET issue, the House unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union Government to amend Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, to exempt all teachers appointed before October 31, 2019 from appearing in the TET.

The resolution, moved by School Education Minister Sakeena Itoo, also urged the Centre to take necessary legal steps and issue the requisite notification through the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

During the discussion, members argued that teachers who had served for several years should be exempted from the examination, while stressing the need for regular professional training.

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Itoo said the government had already approached the Supreme Court on the issue and urged BJP members to take up the matter with the Centre.

“We are not saying the teachers cannot write the examination, but we cannot ask them to prove their worth by writing a test when many of their students have become doctors and IAS officers,” she said.

The resolution was later put to a voice vote and passed unanimously.

Meanwhile, Consumer Affairs Minister Satish Sharma informed the House that the government had approved a scheme to provide six free LPG cylinders annually to AAY families.

He said the scheme had received approval from the competent authority and an order for its implementation would be issued shortly.

The announcement triggered a noisy exchange between the government and opposition benches, with the BJP accusing the National Conference-led government of reneging on its election promise of providing 12 free cylinders.

Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma accused the government of misleading people and questioned how it would fulfil even the six-cylinder commitment.

The BJP also raised the issue of other promises, including free electricity and ration, leading to protests from the treasury benches.

National Conference MLAs and Congress members responded with slogans, while BJP legislators raised counter-slogans. The Speaker intervened and asked the protesting members to take their seats before proceedings returned to normal.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary later hit back at the BJP over the LPG row, asking the party to explain the delay in restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

“We made promises before the people, but BJP made promises in Parliament and before the Supreme Court,” he said, adding that the government had begun implementing its manifesto commitments and still had three years left in its term.

During Question Hour, the Speaker also questioned the Transport Minister over the delay in implementing the revised government vehicle policy proposing the principle of“one officer, one vehicle”.

Satish Sharma said the revised policy was under consideration and would provide for exceptions based on security requirements, field duties, additional charges, operational exigencies and functional requirements.

He said the General Administration Department had given the go-ahead to the policy on September 1 and that it would be notified within two months.

Rather questioned why the policy had not yet been notified despite the committee constituted to examine the issue having already submitted its recommendations.

“What have you done in these 24 days? How many months do you take to go through files? This is an important matter,” the Speaker said.

He also questioned why officers holding charge of more than one department were using two vehicles, stressing that government resources could not be used for luxury when Jammu and Kashmir faced financial constraints.

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The Transport Minister said inter-departmental consultations were under way and assured the Speaker that he would examine the matter and provide the details.

The House also rejected a Private Members' Bill moved by Langate MLA Sheikh Khursheed Ahmad seeking mandatory enrolment of children of public representatives and government servants in government schools.

The government opposed the Bill, maintaining that mandatory enrolment was not feasible and that children had the fundamental right and liberty to choose where they wanted to study.

The concerned minister said the government was upgrading infrastructure in government schools and acknowledged that some institutions still required improvement.

She said the focus should be on improving the quality of government schools and convincing people to choose them rather than making enrolment compulsory.

The minister also pointed to students from government schools qualifying in examinations such as NEET.

Khursheed, however, maintained that improving infrastructure alone would not be sufficient and argued that increased enrolment could also contribute to strengthening government schools.

He said policymakers should examine the issue and reiterated that the children of ministers, MLAs and government employees should also study in government institutions.

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