From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Aug 2: Announcing a mega recruitment of a whopping 12,000 ''guest" teachers in various categories of educational institutions in the State from primary to junior colleges, the Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar said the necessary orders for commencing the recruitment process will be issued in a few days.

Pointing out that the regular recruitment was a time-consuming and elaborate process, the minister said the government decided to implement the concept of recruiting guest teachers to ensure that the students did not suffer due to lack of teachers.

The Finance Department has accepted the Education Department’s proposal for recruiting 12,000 guest teachers on different pay-scales to ensure availability of teachers in all educational institutions in the State, he said.

Addressing a news conference, Ratnakar said the official orders for commencing the recruitment of guest teachers from primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges was expected to be issued either on Saturday or Monday itself.

The guest teachers will be offered a monthly pay-scale of Rs 5,000, Rs 6000 and Rs 7,200, respectively for primary high school and junior college teachers, he said.

Ratnakar said the department has put on hold permanent recruitment of 4,000 teachers till the President Pranab Mukerjee promulgates an ordinance to provide a special status to the Hyderabad Karnataka region under Article 371 (J) of the Constitution by the Centre.

The minister said the Department was examining a proposal to invite tenders for distribution of uniforms to school-children under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) following Centre’s objections to the present pattern.

Ratnakar said the Department was contemplating to hand over the assignment to betterment committee of each school.

The Centre’s Human Resource Development officials have raised objections to the Government’s decision to invite tenders every year for distribution of two-set of uniforms to schoolchildren, he said.

Under the SSA norms, he said the better committee of each school is authorised to procure and distribute uniforms.

The minister said more training to be given to teachers for teaching English for students from first to fourth standards from the next academic year.

The intention is to encourage students to learn English language at an early age. No examination would be conducted, he added.