With an aim to provide quality education to students with rural background Aarohi Schools were established in educationally backward blocks in the state under the Haryana Backward Block Educational Society and around 300 teachers deployed on contractual basis in these schools had been fighting for long demanding to be regularised. Since the parliamentary polls draw near, the teachers are on toes to build pressure on the government stating that despite the Haryana government’s assurances, neither have 36 Aarohi model schools Staff been regularized nor the staff received the seventh pay scale benefits and in view of the forthcoming polls, the matter is also being looked at from a political angle.
Notably, the file has been stuck with the Haryana Education Department for about the last eight months. In this regard, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister has written twice to the concerned senior official of the Education Department but the scenario remains unchanged and no conclusion could be reached on part of the government. In continuation to aforementioned, it came to fore that the Principal Secretary has sent the memorandum of the delegation of Aarohi Model Staff Association in this matter to the Additional Chief Secretary of the department. It is noteworthy that as per the rules, these teachers working in these schools are not entitled to transfer.
It is pertinent to mention that a meeting of the Government Body of Aarohi Model School Society was held on July 21, 2023 under the chairmanship of Rajesh Khullar in a bid to discuss the rules of Aarohi Model Society. It was decided to regularize the teaching and non-teaching staff with completion of five years’ satisfactory service. But progress halted with his retirement. It is noteworthy that these Aarohi schools were opened in 2011 with the help of grants from the Central Government. Around 2232 posts of various categories were sanctioned for these schools following a certain set of regulations. It may be noted that in the last 5 years, the cases of teachers and non-teaching employees of Aarohi Model School who have completed 5 years have been sought thrice by the Directorate of Education. Pertaining to the matter, the Directorate of School Education, Haryana had directed all District Education Officers (DEO), Block Education Officers (BEO) and Principals of Aarohi Model Schools in August 2023 to send the details of all contractual teachers and non-teaching employees of Aarohi Model Schools who have satisfactorily completed a period of five years in service for regularisation of their services.
While reacting in this regard, Sudhir Rajpal who holds the portfolio of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the department said that presently i am not able to say anything regarding the matter and the he matter will be taken into consideration following the rules and regulations. It is pertinent to mention that the students of these schools have proved their mettle at state, national and international levels in academic and non-academic activities. Recently, in the national level mono acting competition, the students of Aarohi Model School, Chhajpur Kalan, Panipat got first position at the national level.
Manoj Kumar, the President of the Aarohi Model School Staff Association, said that over the past five years, many students from these schools have successfully gained admission to IITs and government medical colleges and these 36 Aarohi model schools have achieved commendable success in the field of education. Despite an acute shortage of staff, these schools have consistently maintained high academic standards comparable to top private schools. Further, he said that however, despite these achievements, the mental harassment of these teachers continues due to the indifference of the government and department. Therefore, the Model Staff Association appeals to the Chief Minister to expedite the regularization process and ensure the staff’s prompt regularization, enabling them to contribute effectively to the Haryana Education Department.