Haryana govt cancels 352 JBT teachers’ selection

Candidates whose thumb impressions or signatures were not found identical by FSL, crime record bureau stand rejected

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government has cancelled 352 primary school teachers’ selection following negative reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB).

As per the 7-page order of additional secretary (school education), the rejected candidates are those whose thumb impressions were not found identical by the SCRB or whose signatures were not found same by the FSL.

Meanwhile, the government has also put on hold “temporarily and due to various reasons” the appointment of 1,202 Junior Basic Training (JBT) teachers.

“It is pertinent to mention here that against these rejected candidates, legal penal action may be taken under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the earliest,” the directorate of elementary education recommended on April 27 while setting the ball rolling to appoint 9,870 primary school teachers in the wake of green signal from the high court on April 24.

There are also candidates against whom FIR was lodged due to fake Haryana Teachers Eligibility Test (HTET) certificate.

Another category of rejected candidates is of those who were selected, but their HTET was for the TGT posts and not for the post of JBT.

“The candidatures of those against whom a clear finding of impersonation has been received from the SCRB/FSL will be cancelled,” a government functionary said.

While 293 rejected cases are from the ‘rest of Haryana cadre’, 59 rejected candidates are from Mewat cadre.

Sources say that there are some candidates whose genuineness was yet to be fully established and that such candidates will not be offered appointment till their issues were decided. Such posts will be kept vacant till the verification is finished.

The directorate of elementary education in November 2012 had advertised 9,870 posts of primary teachers. While 8,763 posts were for the ‘rest of Haryana cadre’, 1,107 posts were for the backward Mewat cadre.

The interviews were held and the result was declared on August 14, 2014. But petitions were filed in the high court by the candidates who had passed HTET exam in 2013, pleading for consideration of their cases under the earlier advertised posts. The number of such candidates was about 2,500.

Later, another set of petitions were filed pleading that before declaring the result, credentials of all the candidates be verified.

Hence, the matter was referred to SCRB, Madhuban in Karnal, which sent back the report verifying the thumb impressions of candidates in installments.

Due to continuous litigation, the appointments against the recommendations could not take place.

Sources say after April 24 order of the high court, the government sought opinion of the advocate general (AG) who advised that after exhausting August 20, 2014 merit list, the second list be used to give appointments to the permitted number of candidates that is 9,716.

The department has decided that the candidates who were selected in the lists of ‘rest of Haryana’ and in Mewat cadre, they can join in Mewat district or in the district allotted to them in rest of Haryana.