SHILLONG, July 9: The district roster system for recruitment of teachers in all government-aided schools and colleges came into force on Tuesday.
However, Education Minister Rakkam Sangma expressed the apprehension that the existing reservation system in Meghalaya will soon be scrutinised in the eyes of law.
He said the district roster system will be applicable in all government-aided institutions where the posts are sanctioned by the government. The roster system, however, will not be applicable in those institutions which receive a lump sum amount from the government.
The minister revealed that there are over 800 vacancies in higher education. More than half of them are likely to be filled in the near future.
Stating that the usual 80 per cent reservation will be followed while filling the vacancies, Sangma said roster is just a formula. The state government has put into effect the roster system for recruitment in all of its departments and institutions in order to maintain the State Reservation Policy, which dictates 40 per cent reservation of all posts for the Garo community, 40 per cent for Khasi-Jaintia communities.
Meanwhile, the minister, while reacting to a query about the review of the reservation policy, said he does not wish to talk much on the issue again and again.
He, however, said they are going to face serious scrutiny in the court of law any time soon. “We don’t know if this policy will stand in the eyes of the law as we have seen the same issue in Bihar where the Patna High Court struck down 65 per cent reservation,” Sangma said.
Recently, the Patna High Court struck down the laws passed by the Bihar Legislative Assembly providing 65 per cent reservation to the domiciles of Bihar belonging to Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, and Other Backward Classes in matters of public employment and admission to education institutions. The court reasoned that the enhancement of reservations beyond 50 per cent is bad in law.
“We pray that God saves us all, as we are going to face difficult and serious scrutiny in the eyes of law,” Sangma said.
Rakkam defends MBoSE result re-evaluation
Meanwhile, the Education Minister defended the significant number of Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) candidates opting for re-evaluation of their exam papers. This comes despite several adjustments being made to the top 10 students list following re-evaluation.
When questioned about the need for improved checking of answer sheets by the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE), Sangma stated that re-evaluation is a standard practice observed by all major education boards in the country.
The minister highlighted that candidates have the option to apply for re-checking, re-evaluation, and even obtain copies of their answer sheets. According to Sangma, nearly 100 candidates applied for re-evaluation, resulting in mark changes for eight candidates in the Science stream and four candidates in the Commerce stream.
