PROFORMA to send to tTHE HRD MINISTER and THE PRIME MINISTER of INDIA

To
Smt. Smriti Irani ji
The Hon’ble Minister for Human Resource Development,
Government of India
Rajendra Prasad Road
Shastri Bhawan
New Delhi PIN: 110001.

Date:

Sub: Submission of demands for consideration and initiating necessary action – Reg

Honourable Madam

The staff working in the 585 Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country has been facing several problems for almost three decades. Though many representations were sent to your office no positive response not even a reply in response to the letter was received .On many occasions distance and time have hampered us to meet you personally to appeal, discuss and press for an early remedial action. The Association requests you to take a serious note of the following demands for positive consideration and an early cordial solution as turning a deaf ear to such genuine issues will adversely affect the morale of the staff which, in turn, will affect the functioning of the schools.

Despite our regular demands over the last few years it is sad to note that the NVS has done very little to mitigate the problems of the staff.  Hence, the AINVSA would like to bring to your kind attention the following demands once again for positive consideration and immediate necessary action.

1.     Govt. of India CCS Pension to all employees joined prior to 1.1.2004: we have brought to the notice of the Government of India the injustice done to the staff by denying them of the benefits of the CCS pension. The AINVSA has represented the matter to all important dignitaries in the present UPA government and it is time once again to vociferously voice our anguish against the injustice.

2.      10% Special Allowance to Non-Teaching staff: The AINVSA condemn the cold and discriminatory attitude of the government of India towards the non-teaching staff in Navodaya Vidyalyas who play no less pivotal role in enhancing the reputation of the NVS as a premier organization in the field of education with their selfless and dedicated services. The work load borne by them is more than their counterparts in KVS and, hence, they deserve the 10% special allowance as much as the teaching staff.

          3.     MACPS to teaching staff: Consequent upon the recommendations and implementation of   VICPC, the  non-teaching staff  have become eligible for getting three financial up gradations under the MACPS at intervals of 10, 20 and 30 years of continuous regular service. The AINVSA demands the implementation of the same to the teaching staff also as the monetary benefits of senior scales sanctioned on completion of 12 years of service is very negligible.

4.     A proper transfer policy: Transfer policy before its implementation should have been discussed with the staff representatives through the Associations. And once executed it should go on as per the rules .In NVS the transfer policy made  was not discussed with the  Associations  and  was not properly implemented, due to which many of the staff lost the chance for transfer  last year. We have doubt the present transfer policies sovereignty .There are umpteen chances to misuse it. An acceptable policy should be made .Before the implementation of the proposed policy the points each individual is gathered should be displayed in the website to avoid misuse. Request, spouse case transfer and mutual transfers should be allowed without any fix tenure or minimum 3 years only. Ten years should not be mandatory for request transfers, but only for admin ground or done in public interest.

5.      Implementation of transfer policy should start from higher level and zero chances     of influence and bribe shall be ensured. Kindly arrange the counseling in the month of May (holidays) to facilitate maximum participation of the interested. Avoid fresh posting before the completion of transfers as not to hamper the working staff’s opportunity. No transfer should be done prior to implementation of the transfer policy.

6.     Recognition of AINVSA: The recognition of the Association has been one of the long Pending problems of the staff for over three decades. AINVSA has already submitted the 11,000 membership forms of the teaching and non-teaching staff from 25 states. Ms VrindaSarup, Additional Secretary (SE), MHRD - in the meeting with AINVSA representatives under her chairpersonship – directed the NVS to evolve a joint mechanism to consider and address the demands of staff with representatives of staff associations. Recognition of AINVSA will pave way for amicable solution of staff grievances by doing away with pseudo representation of staff side. 

7.     Two Associations with same name: As two AINVSA are working under the same label, NVS should take initiative to stop the duplicate one and recognize the registered and original Association and direct the other association to work under some other name. The required action is awaited at the earliest after a thorough verification.

8.     Staff’s should be allowed to work in their home town: NVS is the only institution which is not happy with its employees in their own home town’s .We doesn’t know how NVS is being harmed if its employees are allowed to work in their home towns.

9.     MOD’s burden should be removed from the teachers:  MOD’s are made just for the sake of reducing the burden of Principals and Vice Princpals.When teachers are having their own prescribed work and duties, like remedial and supervised studies MOD work is unnecessarily thrust on their heads for making them the scapegoats by asking them to put signature on all the bills of that day. This is something like victimization .This custom must be avoided.

10.  Payment of Salary for Strike period:  The teaching and non teaching staff working in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country went on a nationwide Indefinite Strike from 06-02-13 to 15-02-13 demanding resolution of long pending demands. The strike was called off, following the intervention of Shri Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for HRD, Govt. of India on the evening of 15-02-13 and his assurance to us to resolve the problems in a time bound manner. The salary for the strike period has been withheld. AINVSA appeals to the Hon’ble Commissioner to condone the 10 day strike period of the staff and allow the staff payment of the salary withheld for that period. Condoning of strike period may not be an issue if NVS appreciates the fact that the staff has been compelled to sacrifice ‘billions of rest hours’ since the inception of NVS.

11. Appointment of Warden and Matron on permanent basis: The AINVSA    demands appointment of warden and matron to assist the House master/House mother and cooperate with the administration in the successful running of the Residential system. The NVS should waste no time in the appointment of regular wardens/matrons as promised by the Commissioner in the beginning of 2009-10 academic years.

12. Defining working hours for all categories of employees: It does not need any evidence to prove that the staff of Navodaya Vidyalayas works for longer hours than the ones defined by NVS itself. As a result of this, the staff is deprived of precious personal time and innumerable compensatory leaves and put to untold stress. A mechanism should be devised to extract qualitative work from the staff by giving them due space for personal life.

13. Timely promotion to all staff & Conducting the departmental promotion test yearly: More than half the teaching staff has been deprived of their timely promotional opportunities because of the laid-back approach of the NVS. As a result, the staff has become less enthusiastic about promotions and accepting challenges. The NVS has failed to tap the potential of the staff at the right time which has surely blunted its weaponry. It is sad but not surprising to note how ill-prepared NVS is to implement its own policy decision. While it is expected that the departmental promotion tests are conducted yearly for the aspiring TGTS, the NVS has conducted only two in the last four years, thus dampening their hopes of a belated promotion. The AINVSA demands for the revamping of the promotion system to expedite the promotion of the deserving teaching and non-teaching staff to strengthen the system and improve the working ambience.

14. Restoration of Earned Leave to teaching staff / Vacation staff in addition to Half Pay leave: The AINVSA demands the restoration of Earned Leaves on full pay as teachers are the only employees denied of earned leave by the Central Government. The Earned Leave facility was granted to the teachers working in Central Government during Smt Indira Gandhi’s time as a special case in lieu of 20 days half pay leave. In addition VI CPC in its recommendation reduced the CL for the staff of those institutions which have five working days.Our case quite different as we work seven days a week, still our CLs were discriminately reduced to eight.

15. Weekly off to all categories of staff: As the staff of Navodaya Vidyalayas work round the clock on all days of the week in view of residential nature of their job, they may be granted a regular weekly off on any convenient day subject to exigencies, so as to enable them to attend their domestic needs.

16. Stepping up of pay of seniors with that of their juniors: The pay scales of Senior TGTs should be stepped up with juniors in line with the KVS TGTs as they suffer monetary loss in the absence of recruitment in 2006 in all the regions of the NVS except Shillong.

17.  Enhancement of HM/AHM allowance: The teachers are not happy with the enhancement of HM/AHM allowance to Rs.800/400 per month as the responsibilities thrust on them are very demanding. The hike is far less than what was demanded by the AINVSA.  Hence, the AINVSA demands that the HM/AHM allowance should be raised to Rs.5000/4000.

18. Providing free education to the children of deceased staff: The AINVSA requests for providing free education to the children of staff who meet with untimely death while in service. Permission may be granted to such children to have free education from a Vidyalaya of their choice if they are of admissible age. If the child is already admitted, he/she may be allowed to pursue education till the completion of +2 courses.

19. Increasing the number of House Mothers: At present there are only two House Mothers for girls’ houses and each of them is expected to look after over 100 girl wards. The AINVSA demands for the rationale distribution of work by appointing two more Housemothers in schools where the lady teachers are available for a better care of girl students.

20. Providing Health Insurance to the Staff: It is sad to note that the NVS has not paid much attention to its staff’s health after retirement. The NVS should give serious consideration to this issue and implement a proper health insurance scheme to all its employees to enable them meet their genuine medical expenses to the fullest after superannuation.

21. Sanctioning compensatory leave for work on the Gazetted holiday(s): Of late the NVS has started a new trend of dishonoring the public/gazetted holidays. The training programmes, games and sports meets, exhibitions, etc start on gazetted holidays, thus depriving the staff of their right to avail genuine holidays. Quite often the staff is also deprived of the gazetted holidays as they are engaged in duties like escorting children for sports events, migration, etc. While planning a training programme or a sports meet the NVS should ensure that the staff is not deprived of its right to enjoy public holidays as they help them to spare their time for family which is one of the ways of lessening their stress. The NVS must sanction one compensatory leave for one public holiday he has foregone because of engagement with his/her official work.

22. Implementation of CCE in its true spirit: The NVS’s Academic Perspective Plan is a damn evidence of its misinterpretation of the NCF- 2005 and the CCE programme. While CBSE is going ahead year after year bringing about drastic changes in the teaching-learning and evaluation system, the implementation of the scheme in the Navodaya Vidyalayas shows that the NVS  isn’t ready to free its teachers from the three-decade long shackles of ‘pass percentages and  subject averages’. The NVS should abandon its outdated practices forthwith and focus its attention on what the NCF-2005 envisages. The continuation of the present practice is sure to rott the whole system with the Principals and staff left with no alternative but dilute the evaluation system to please their higher officers with high percentiles and percentages.

23. Grant of 4200 Grade Pay to Cat Asst:  Cat Asst were deprived considering the Career avenues they would have enjoyed had they been outside the NVS.  NVS should grant the grade pay of 4200 to Cat Asst considering the fact that their counter parts in other Government Organizations are given that benefit. Cat Assts in NVS have 24x7 working hours whereas their counter parts in other organizations, both private and Govt sectors have 8 hour shifts.

24. Enhancement of JNVST application scrutiny charges: The AINVSA demands for the enhancement of JNVST scrutiny charges from Rs.1 to Rs.10 in view of the heavy work load scrutiner’s discharge till the hall-tickets are dispatched and nominal rolls are re-checked before the exam.

25. Creation of PGT posts in Modern Indian Languages: It is sad to note that the demand of Modern Indian Language teachers handling +2 in the JNVS across the country for creation of a PGT post in their respective languages has not been heeded by the NVS so far. This is tantamount to exploitation of the Modern Indian Language teachers and depriving the students of their right to choose their mother-tongue as one of the languages for special study at +2 levels. Unfortunately the wonderful results the regional language teachers have been producing year after year have had no effect on the NVS.  It is high time the NVS put an end to the ill- treatment of these teachers by not sanctioning a PGT post in Modern Indian Languages. Make appointments purely on promotional basis. This will be the only way of compensating over two decade-long injustice.

26. Sanction of Bonus to teaching and non-teaching staff in Senior-Scale:  NVS has denied payment of Non-Productivity Linked Bonus (ad-hoc bonus) to PGTs in Senior Scale. As per existing GOI norms, all non-gazetted employees in Group B are eligible for payment of Non-Productivity Linked Bonus (ad-hoc bonus). Teaching and non-teaching staff in Senior Scale are neither gazetted employees nor Group A employees and denial of bonus to them is against the norms prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.  Bonus is not denied to staff in Senior Scale, working in KVS. NVS should grant Non-Productivity Linked Bonus (ad-hoc bonus) to teaching and non-teaching staff in Senior Scale without any further delay.

27. Grant of 4600 Grade Pay to OS:  The post of Office Superintendent was sanctioned in the scale of pay of Rs.550-900 in Group “B” supervisory cadre in NVS. At the same time in the same sanction order and Recruitment Rule the post of Assistant/Editorial Assistant/ Statistical Assistant/ Legal Assistant were sanctioned in the scale of pay of Rs.425-800 in Group “C” cadre. The KVS considering the functional disturbances of superintendents and assistant/Audit Assistant has merged the post of Superintendent and Section Officer and granted the Grade Pay Rs.4600/-. AINVSA demands up gradation of the post of Office Superintendent as ordered by the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi.  

28.  Reduction of Service for the post of the Principal: KVS requires 8 years of service in the grade pay of 4800 whereas NVS prescribed 12 years of service as qualifying service for the post of Principal.  NVS should consider amending the qualifying service period in line with KVS.

29. Reporting to the Vidyalaya after the Holidays: 24x7 nature of duty in NVS deprives the staff from attending to their personal obligations and staffs always look forward to Holiday Period as an opportunity to balance their professional and personal life. Demanding the staff to report to the Vidyalaya two days prior to the reopening day is not justified. A day earlier is enough for looking after the requirements for reception of the students.

30.   Conversion of Surplus Drivers to the Post of LDCs:  Due to ageing of vehicles in JNVs, the number of surplus posts has been increasing in the Vidyalaya Driver Cadre. NVS should convert such posts to LDCs so that Human Resources are productively redeployed.

31. Sanctioning more Group D staff: As the vidyalayas have been steadily growing in size it is now becoming increasingly difficult for the schools to pay attention to maintenance, health and hygiene, and safety and security with the existing two night watchmen and two chowkidar-cum sweepers. The NVS should take all steps to sanction 2 more night watchmen and 2 more chowkidar-cum-sweepers in addition to the present sanctioned posts.

32. Kindly stop rotation transfer of Regional language teachers: It is really sad to know that NVS is still continuing the rotation of regional language teachers. We still don’t know for whose satisfaction this model of transfer is still continued. Samiti can post fresh hands in distant schools and according to the vacancies available they may be brought back to the home states.  For the regional language teachers the rotation transfer is a nightmare. They never get the chance to settle down with their family.

33. Compensatory job to be given to the survivors of deceased persons:

Compensatory job to be given to the survivors of deceased persons on duty and the kith and kin of those gone on permanent disabilities while on duty.

34. Extension of benefit of Nursing Allownce :

The staffs working in Govt Hospital/Autonomous bodies are getting nursing allowance @ Rs4000/- per month as recommended by 6^th Pay Commission, but the same was denied to the Staff Nurses of JNVs. Therefore Nursing Allowance as recommended by the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th Central Pay Commission may kindly be granted to the Staff Nurses working in JNVs w.e.f joining date.

35. Provision of atleast two posts of Nurses in every JNVs:

There should be Male Nurse in addition to the female Nurses in each JNVs and vice versa.

36. Right off the Library Books:

Kindly authorize the Principal in JNVs to right off the library books after a certain period.

Thanking you sir,

Yours sincerely

Name of JNV:

Sr.No   Name of staff          Designation     Signature

(Put here staff list)

Copy to:

1)      Hon’ble Secretary, Dept.of School Education & Literacy, Govt.Of India, ShastriBhavan, New Delhi-110001.

2)      Hon’ble Addl. Secretary,Dept.of School Education & Literacy, Govt.Of India, ShastriBhavan, New Delhi-110001.