This important office must restore the space for addressing grievances of various stakeholders to stay relevant and buzzing!
In the recent past, the teachers visited the Directorate with their grievances only to return disappointed after they were told that the directorate cannot help them to get the problem resolved. Finally the case landed in the civil secretariat and is still lingering.File/ GK
Syed Rizwan Geelani
The Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK), one of the very important public institutions in the Valley which would remain abuzz with the footfall of various stakeholders, appears to be slowly fading into oblivion.
And much to the surprise of many, the office, which would be a one-stop place to have their range of grievances addressed, appears to be getting out of bounds of the people, particularly the teaching community and other officers of the department.
These officers would visit the directorate to get their grievances addressed but now even the petty issues land in secretariat as the directorate pleads helplessness in resolving the grievances of the teachers and the officers.
Case of 3rd zone teachers is worth citing here. The teachers were shifted from normal zones to 3rd zones in the 2020 academic session and as per the transfer policy, were supposed to be shifted back to their posts in the next academic session. But the aggrieved teachers continue to remain posted in very hard zones for the 3rd consecutive year for none of their faults.
In the recent past, the teachers visited the Directorate with their grievances only to return disappointed after they were told that the directorate cannot help them to get the problem resolved. Finally the case landed in the civil secretariat and is still lingering.
The directorate used to witness a huge rush of teachers, masters and lecturers besides the other officers of the department every day to get their grievances addressed. But over the last one year, the footfall has minimised and the rush of people has witnessed a dwindling trend.
The employees at the directorate attribute it to the change in policy matters saying that most of the issues are directly managed at administrative level with no role of the Directorate.
The teachers would mostly visit the directorate with transfer related grievances but over the last one year, the administrative department has been handling it at the secretariat level.
“A teacher would visit the directorate ten times with the grievance regarding transfer. But now it serves no purpose to them as the whole transfer system is being managed by the administrative department through an online mechanism with no interference from the directorate,” an employee at the Directorate said.
Besides the transfers, the promotions and other postings are also managed by the secretariat as well leaving no hope for the teaching community and other officers to get their grievances addressed at the directorate level.
On the other hand the officers in the civil secretariat claim that small and petty issues land in the administrative department which can be resolved at the directorate level.
Recently, there was a massive outcry over the diktat of private schools to purchase the school uniforms from a particular shop, causing huge inconvenience to the general public. The parents were seen waiting in queues for many hours and social media was abuzz with the videos of these parents but no action was initiated by the Directorate in this regard. With the result, the grievances landed in the civil secretariat.
Ideally, the DSEK should have been able to resolve the grievance of the parents and initiate action against the schools. Otherwise it serves no purpose of having a full-fledged directorate in Kashmir which cannot even address public issues like this.
It is a fact that the administrative department is meant for taking policy decisions and small (public) issues can be resolved at the directorate level. If it cannot initiate the action but can at least recommend government action against any institutions found violating set norms. But it seems that the directorate has surrendered itself and has kept its role confined to visiting schools and meeting students.
In the past, the former directors had started an initiative of Public Darbar where in the director would meet public and at times teachers almost twice or thrice a week and all the public issues or the issues related to government or private schools were heard at directorate level.
But for the last one year, the practice was abolished which left no option for the public and the teaching community to submit their grievances in the administrative department.
“Every petty issue will not land in the secretariat if the director will meet people and get to know about public issues and try to resolve the problems at his own level. But if you don’t meet the public and don’t get aware about the problems then obviously all the issues will land in the secretariat which is not a good practice at all,” an official at the civil secretariat said.
A general perception is growing against the directorate of school education Kashmir for surrendering its powers, mostly the public issues which can be resolved at the directorate level but unnecessary land in the civil secretariat.
If the DSEK is to make a lasting impression in the public circles, it is imperative for its authorities to restore its space for addressing grievances of various stakeholders, including teachers and parents.
Small matters can be certainly addressed at the Directorate-level only, leaving ample room for the administrative department to focus on policy matters instead of grievances.
If the DSEK space continues to shrink for the public, it would only turn the entire office both redundant and defunct, even though it may continue to exist in terms of a building
