Newly-recruited OBC school-principals accuse Delhi’s Directorate of Education of victimisation
OBCs Commission Chairman Jagdish Yadav summons DoE officials to his office
Delhi Crown Bureau
New Delhi: Accusing Delhi’s Directorate of Education (DoE) of “victimisation” while carrying out documents verification, nearly 20 newly-recruited school principals, including four ladies, belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) met Chairman of Delhi OBCs Commission Jagdish Yadav on Wednesday and apprised him about their grave concern.
Looking worried at DoE’s directive to them to furnish the back-dated Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) certificates, the teachers complained to the OBCs Chairman Yadav about the insensitivity and callousness being adopted by the Directorate.
A total of 336 school principals were recently recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) through a process of written test and interviews. The final results were declared in the last week of March. Following the final selections, the DoE had directed the OBC candidates to furnish their Caste Certificates along with their old Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) certificates.
The teachers-turned-Principals allege that the original advertisement issued by the UPSC had only asked for OBC Certificates, and did not mention any requirement for NCL certificates. After the selection process was over, the final list of successful candidates was handed over to Delhi’s Directorate of Education for carrying out the necessary process for the official-joining of the selected candidates.
“Now Delhi’s DoE has come up with this new requirement asking us to furnish our old NCL Certificates proving that that we don’t fall under the creamy layer among OBCs. We don’t have such old certificates issued 2-3 years ago, as we never dreamt of DoE asking us to furnish such a document upon being selected as School Principals. It is nothing but victimisation of us, the OBC candidates. We urge upon the Delhi OBCs Commission to immediately intervene into the matter, and direct the DoE to shun this impractical requirement. We are ready to furnish our latest NCL certificates,” said one of the lady teachers who got selected as Principal through UPSC.
Delhi OBCs Commission Chairman Jagdish Yadav gave a patient hearing to the enraged teachers-turned-Principals and issued a letter to Director of Education Himanshu Gupta. In the strongly-worded letter, Yadav told Gupta that the DoE should “restrain itself” from taking such arbitrary decisions and a proper way-out should be conveyed to the selected candidates so that they may fulfil the requisite requirements.
The OBC Chairman also directed Director Himanshu Gupta to depute the concerned Deputy Director of Education (DDE) to appear in person before the OBCs Commission on April 24 at 15:00 hours along with other concerned officials.
In its written complaint to the OBCs Commission Chairman, the Government Schools Teachers Association (GSTA) accused the DoE of demanding NCL Certificates issued before May 13, 2021 and that Deficiency Memos were being issued to the selected candidates in OBCs category in this regard. The GSTA also alleged that the DoE was seeking NCL Certificates from those OBC candidates also who have been selected in unreserved category.