No principals, no problem, they are hiring on the spot

The Sankhleswar school is just one of the over 160 government-aided schools that got principals this week in on-the-spot appointments. The process which began Monday is on for two more days and officials hope to fill most of the vacancies—there are about 140 left.

The applicants walk in with documents and return with their appointment letters. ‘‘My wife is going to be surprised when I take home the appointment order today,’’ said Kanubhai R. Patel. ‘‘She thinks that as usual things will take months and we’ll have to wait for the order— if it arrives at all!’’

Interviews are conducted in day-long camps at all district headquarters. Safeguards— panel members do not know the candidate and school till the last moment—ensure that bribes and influence-mongering are out.

Officials in the education department say that the new procedure is the brainchild of Jayanti Ravi, who as collector of Godhra kept peace there after last year’s carnage and is now the chairperson of the Gujarat Secondary & Higher Secondary Education Board. But she refuses to take credit and says it is a collective effort of board members.

Candidates said the process was by and large fair and transparent. Many trustees on school managements—known to influence choice and even sell positions— grudgingly admit that the camps provided a level-playing field for the candidates.

Headless schools have been a big problem in Gujarat. Often, managements make do with acting principals, keeping the pressure on those given the posts, keeping out people who refuse to toe the line, and having the option of ‘‘auctioning’’ the post to the best bidder.

The state government bears the salary bill of these private grant-in-aid schools but managements are under no pressure to join the new interview system. Some managements agreed on paper to join the process but did not send representatives for the interview.

In the new system, the schools have to let the government know of vacancies, get no-objection certificates, and then advertise for the post. The interviews for all vacancies in a district are held at a camp. Candidates face a panel of four, two from the trust running the school and two from the education department.

The department officials come to know the identity of the school only when the sealed envelopes are opened just before the interview. The new marking system also curtails the influence of trustees: they will evaluate candidates for five marks (instead of the earlier 10), the same as the government officials.

‘‘The new system leaves managements with no scope for irregularity,’’ said Ishwarbhai Patel, managing trustee of the M.G. Vidyalaya, Dharpur. ‘‘Even if I wanted a particular person, say one of my relatives, appointed and he doesn’t make the grade, there is no way he can be appointed. I like this system; it’s only managements indulging in corrupt practices that don’t like it.’’

But the Gujarat State School Managements Association plans to oppose the new practice. Its secretary Jitendra Shah said that panels had been reduced to government puppets. He said that by rule, interviews had to be conducted in the schools themselves and not at any place the district education officer decides.

But candidates said that’s a mere quibble— prompted by the fact that now trustees can’t earn on the side. Neither can government officials.

Said State Education Minister Anandiben Patel: ‘‘We were aware of the irregularities, and wanted to clean up the procedure. I’m hoping 80 per cent of the vacancies will be filled up.’’