By Mumtaz Alam, India Tomorrow,
New Delhi, 24 Feb 2014: In a move to keep Urdu language alive even in non-Urdu areas, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has eased the norm for appointment of Urdu teacher in a school under a special centrally-funded scheme. The ministry has sent a revised guideline to states asking them to appoint Urdu teacher if 15 or more students of a class want to learn the language.
The previous criteria of appointment of language teachers under the “Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Financial Assistance for Appointment of Language Teachers” allowed states and Union Territories to appoint Urdu teachers in a locality where more than 25% of the population was from Urdu speaking community.
Several groups representing Urdu language minority particularly in states like Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu had opposed the norm as in those states hardly one can find an area whose 25% population speaks Urdu.
Accepting the demand, the HRD ministry has now changed the criteria for appointment of Urdu teachers and sent the new guideline to states and UTs.
A letter of HRD ministry dated 13 Feb 2014 and sent to states, a copy of which is with India Tomorrow, reads: “This Ministry is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Financial Assistance for Appointment of Language Teachers. The existing scheme has been revised in respect of Appointment of Urdu Teachers.”
The letter also carries the new guideline. “The Government of India would provide financial assistance for appointment of Urdu Teachers where 15 or more students in a class opt for it. The State Government may appoint contractual teachers…The previous criteria of appointment of Urdu teachers in any locality where more than 25% of the population is from Urdu speaking community has been changed,” says the new guideline.
The new guideline also allows appointment of permanent Urdu teachers if demand is persistently higher.
“The appointment of permanent teachers of Urdu language may be made in places/schools where demand for Urdu language is persistently higher than 15 in a class so that permanent Urdu teachers do not remain idle,” reads the letter signed by Sanjay Singh, Under Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education & Literacy.
Under the special scheme, the central government provides 100% financial assistance to the States/UTs.
Due to previous mandatory condition of having 25% Urdu speaking people in an area the scheme was not being implemented in states like Assam where the requisite number of Urdu speaking people are not available. All Assam Madrassa Educated Youth Association (AAMEYA) had been striving for change in the criteria. Lok Sabha Member from Assam Badruddin Ajmal had met former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and present minister Pallam Raju several times. Recently perfume baron Ajmal, who represents Dhubri constituency in Assam and is chief of All India United Democratic Front, led a delegation of AAMEYA to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought his help to amend the condition. The PM took serious note of the issue and wrote to HRD Ministry.
AAMEYA hopes the change in the appointment norm would also give an opportunity to thousands of madrassa educated youths to be appointed in elementary and secondary schools of Assam.
The new rule, however, fixes a very low honorarium for part-time Urdu teachers.
“The financial assistance admissible would be based on the prevailing salary structure of Urdu or any other language teachers employed with Schools of the State Government. There will be no ceiling towards salary of Urdu Teachers now…Honorarium is also admissible to the part-time teachers for teaching Urdu to the students at the rate of Rs 1000 per month,” reads the document.
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