Gujarat: State control of school hiring puts educational freedom at risk

(Oct.30,2009): Schools in western India’s Gujarat State will require authorisation from the State government before they can hire new teaching and non-teaching staff, according to a circular letter sent by the State government led by Hindu extremist Narendra Modi. Under the terms of the new regulations, which were upheld by the Supreme Court, any publicly funded educational institution must seek prior approval before recruiting and appointing teaching and non-teaching staff.
The new rules are designed to avoid layoffs and ensure that new staff is properly trained. However, minorities fear that it would give outsiders ample opportunities to interfere in the management of educational facilities. Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), spoke to AsiaNews about the Church’s misgivings with regard to the initiative. He said “On the one hand, there seems to be a rationale behind the government’s initiative; on the other, it might lead to more pressures and controls by unscrupulous individuals, who want to undermine institutions’ autonomy in recruiting and hiring staff.” He said concern that schools might have excess and unqualified staff is baseless.
Noting that many schools in rural areas are facing the grim prospect of closure for lack of funds and staff, he said this should be seriously addressed by the State government.” For now, Fr Babu Joseph said he would wait and see what the authorities have to say about the new rules.