Some discomfiture over proposal to make vice-principals take an exam

In January, the government had said 449 of 946 schools were functioning without principals. In Delhi government schools, principals are appointed either through promotion or direct recruitment through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Vice-principals are usually promoted as heads of schools.

“To sit for an examination after several years of service does not sound practical. We don’t know why there is a need to have the exam,” a vice-principal of a school in Nangloi said. A vice-principal of a school in central Delhi said an interview might be a better alternative: “This way, one can also determine and understand the administrative capabilities of a person. How will we sit for an examination at this age?”

Ajay Veer Yadav, general secretary of the Government School Teachers’ Association, favoured an exam. “Principals hired through direct recruitment go through a rigorous examination conducted by UPSC,” he said.