Direct recruitment of PU lecturers planned
BEd degree made mandatory for candidates
The State government has decided to fill the vacant 1,765 lecturer posts in the government pre-university colleges through direct recruitment. For the first time, along with a post-graduation degree, possession of BEd degree has also been made mandatory for candidates, who aspire for the post.
The government has withdrawn the responsibility of recruitment of lecturers from Karnataka Public Service Commission, and entrusted it to the central admission centre of the directorate of public instructions.
A draft rule regarding the new recruitment process was notified on Friday.
The government has given 15 days time for filing objections, if any, to the draft rules published in the gazette. After the issuance of final notification, the recruitment process will begin in October, according to official sources.
Written test
The director of the PU directorate heads the special committee formed to conduct the recruitment. The central recruitment committee will function under the supervision of the special committee. The selection will be done by conducting a written test.
The proposed recruitment aims at filling 1,765 lecturers’ posts in 14 disciplines. Of the total posts, 1,009 posts are in science and commerce. Though post-graduation and BEd degrees have been made mandatory, the marks scored by them in those examinations will not be taken into consideration. The selection will be done based on the marks scored in the written test.
Candidates have to attend three papers, including Kannada, for which 150 marks will be earmarked.
The minimum qualifying score is 50 marks. But the marks scored in Kannada will not be considered to decide the merit. Multiple choice questions/answers will be given. The marks scored in the core subjects are considered for drawing the merit list.
Opposition
However, the decision to make BEd degree compulsory has not gone down well with the aspirants. At least 15 to 20 per cent of them do not have BEd degrees. This rule will make many PG holders remain unemployed, they say.
Aspirants, T Nagaraj, M Jagadish and S Prakash pointed out that in 2008, when the State was under President’s rule, there were efforts to make BEd mandatory. But it was met with stiff opposition from elected representatives, they said.
MLC Y N Narayanaswamy said BEd degree is mandatory for high school teachers but extending the same rule to college lecturers is unscientific. The government must withdraw its decision, he said.
Former education minister Basavaraj Horatti said in case the government wants to improve quality of teaching, it should look for MPhil or PhD degree holders for lecturer posts. Even priority could be given to those who have passed NET and SLET.
“As per the Centre’s uniform education policy, BEd is mandatory. But there is no uniform policy. Kerala, Gujarat and Karnataka have different systems. According to the national policy, classes from 9 to 12 come under high school. But here, standard 8 to 10 are in high school. There is no need for BEd degree to become a PU college lecturer,” he said.
