Two years on, Zonal Gender Coordinators are yearning to get paid
Srinagar: The Zonal Gender Coordinators (ZGC) working in school education department have been denied their salary for past two years which has left them in a state of delusion and depression.
The ZGC are the female workers who were engaged at zonal level by the education department in 2005 under NPEGEL scheme.
Though the government closed the scheme few years ago, but they continue to render their services in the department continuously.
The directorate of education Jammu and Kashmir divisions, have recently stated in their joint report that their services were satisfactory and are needed for betterment of the girl education in the department.
However, despite having a positive service record, these coordinators have not received their salaries for past two years.
“We are at the verge of starvation, our families are suffering due to prolonged delay in getting our salaries on monthly basis,” said a group of aggrieved gender coordinators.
Since the scheme was closed in 2013, the department instead of disengaging them utilized their services without any break at zonal level. But the workers are yet to get any confirmation about their absorption in the department under any scheme.
Earlier, an official report had favored their absorption in the department against vacancies in the centrally sponsored Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyale (KGBV)-residential schools. The report was submitted by state project director Samagra Shiksha to secretary school education department on the basis of the feedback received from both the directors of education.
The report had stated that the ZGCs have played a significant role in organization of programmes like community mobilization, gender sensitization, self-defense training for girls, house hold surveys and Beti Bachaw Beti Padaw besides contribution in identification and enrollment of ST/BPL girls in KGBVs.
NPEGEL was an important component of centrally sponsored erstwhile SSA scheme which was aimed to reach out to ‘hardest to reach’ girls, especially those not in schools.
“Department has huge number of vacancies in KGBVs. Keeping in view our services, we should be absorbed and allowed to continue against these posts,” said a group of female coordinators.
As per the communication, the department in previous meetings had decided that the future course of action will be taken on the basis of inputs provided by both directors of school education in the context of contribution of ZGCs in bridging the gender gap.
“But our case is pending in civil secretariat as all the bureaucrats delay the file for unknown reasons,” the gender coordinators said.
The gender coordinators have appealed the Governor of J&K regarding their absorption in the department and release of their pending salary.
At present around 97 ZGCs are working in various zones of the state for which department has 159 vacant posts sanctioned in KGBVs.
Secretary school education department, Sarita Chauhan was not available for her comments.
KV Correspondent
