Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The delay in granting time-scale promotions has sparked outrage among teachers in the state. Around one lakh teachers across various districts have completed the necessary service years to qualify but are still waiting for the benefit. The cases of teachers who were reclassified from the ‘adhyapak’ (teacher cadre) to the education cadre, especially higher secondary and secondary teachers, are stuck due to delays in file processing.
District education officers (DEOs) have not forwarded the proposals to the joint director (JD) offices on time, causing significant hold-ups. As per the government policy, teachers are entitled to the first promotion after 12 years and the second promotion after 24 years of service, while time-scales are granted after 10 and 20 years. The school education and tribal affairs departments had issued clear orders to all district and divisional JD offices nearly a year ago, directing them to implement promotions and time-scales within a specified timeframe.
However, delays persist, with teachers in districts like Jabalpur, Rewa, Sagar, Gwalior, Indore, and others still awaiting their due promotions. The issue primarily affects teachers merged into the education cadre in 2018, who remain excluded from these benefits.
For primary teachers, promotion is handled at the DEO level, but for higher secondary and secondary teachers, it requires JD-level approval once proposals are submitted by DEOs. JDs cite a lack of proposals from DEOs as the main reason for the backlog. JD Bhopal, Arvind Chorghade, said that the process is nearing completion and all pending cases will soon be resolved.
