Teachers on Chandigarh tenure express resentment, seek intervention of Punjab, Haryana CMs

In the case of teachers for government schools of Chandigarh, 80% teachers are appointed from UT cadre, while the remaining 20% are taken from Punjab, and Haryana on deputation.

A senior officer of the UT administration told The Indian Express that they have a sent a draft policy for the employees on deputation to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for a final call. The officer also said that as the service rules of the central government are applicable to the employees in Chandigarh, the same would be applicable for deputation purposes too. As per the draft, sources say, initially the deputation will be for five years which can be extended up to seven years.

The employee leaders say that several posts in the 20% quota of the two states (Punjab, and Haryana) are lying vacant. “If the seven-year cap is imposed, then teachers from the two states may not be keen on getting posted in Chandigarh on deputation because of the instability factor,” said an association leader.

During the past few years, senior officers from both states have also opposed the idea of putting a limit on the period of employees’ deputation in Chandigarh. Those on deputation in Chandigarh don’t want a cap on their stint in the UT, as leaving (being asked to go back to parent cadre) the city in or within seven years would disturb their family life.

In a communication to the UT administration, a senior IAS officer from Punjab, Krishan Kumar, in 2017 had explained the point of view of the Punjab government insisting that “there should not be any fixed tenure of deputation of teachers to Chandigarh”.

“As the deputation from the state (Punjab) to the UT is not a normal kind of deputation, the teachers opt for deputation to come to UT keeping in view their long-term future as well as future of their children,” the IAS officer had mentioned.

Krishan Kumar had also stated that as per the state (Punjab) policy, the teachers are not disturbed from their present place of posting unless there are serious charges against them. “When there is a state policy providing stability of tenure of the teacher – which is also in the interest of the studies of the students as well as teachers – teachers coming on deputation to the UT should not feel discriminated against. Even a mention of fixed tenure of deputation in their appointment letter will discourage teachers from coming to the UT from Punjab,” Kumar had said.

According to Kumar, the central government, from time to time, has also been pressing the states to have stable tenure of employees. “Many of the teachers coming to the UT are ‘couple cases’ and selectively repatriating such teachers on the ground of some fixed tenure rule will destabilise them from a family point of view also. If the UT administration still feels that teachers should not remain too long in one school, they may however consider transferring them from one school to another school within the UT,” the IAS officer had said.