ANANTNAG: While subject-specific teacher vacancies are increasing in Jammu and Kashmir’s government schools at the high and higher secondary levels, the government is redeploying primary school teachers, originally appointed under the Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) scheme, to teach higher secondary classes as Cluster Resource Coordinators (CRCs).
As a consequence, students are suffering academically, unemployed educated youth are overlooked, and the foundation of primary education is collapsing under systemic neglect.
The Department of Education hires CRCs (Cluster Resource Coordinators) every year on a contractual basis to provide academic and training support in government run high and higher secondary schools.
However, instead of recruiting fresh postgraduates on merit, primary and secondary teachers are being deployed to fill CRC posts in violation of policy norms.
The Department of Education hires Cluster Resource Coordinators (CRC’s) each year to provide teaching support in various government high and higher secondary schools across Jammu and Kashmir. These are contractual positions for a period of nine months, with a monthly salary of Rs 25,000.
CRCs were established under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (now Samagra Shiksha) to provide academic support and conduct in-service teacher training for government schools in each cluster. These appointments are crucial in bridging learning gaps in school education across Kashmir. Appointments under this scheme are made on an annual basis.
Violation of Norms
The appointment of Cluster Resource Centre Coordinators (CRCs) has become a contentious issue, with serious allegations of procedural violations and mismanagement by education departments.
However, the current appointment practices appear to deviate significantly from the established norms.
The core violation centers on the inappropriate deployment of primary and secondary school teachers employed under the Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) to CRC positions, which fundamentally contradicts the specialized nature of these roles.
CRCs are designed to function as resource centers that provide academic leadership, coordinate training programs, and offer technical support to multiple schools within a cluster.
“The Department of Education is either appointing primary or secondary school teachers as CRCs, or the posts remain vacant which is a clear violation of the norms,” says Sabreena, a post-graduate in History, is currently working as a teacher in a private school, teaching primary classes because there are no jobs in specialised teaching.
A glaring example in Shopian district, she points out, are the higher secondaries where Primary level teachers are appointed as CRCs including in Sedow, Heerpora, Narpora, Keegam,Vehil, Tarkuwangam, Zianpora, Kanjiullar and Harmain.
The Kashmir Times physically crosschecked and verified some of these claims. 28 of ReT teachers were found deployed as CRCs in 13 Higher Secondary Schools.
An official in the Education Department admitted that ReTs are being appointed wherever there is a need. He, however, requested anonymity while justifying the rationale behind this. “This is done in some schools with very low student enrollment as it doesn’t make sense to deploy three or four separate subject-specific teachers,” he said.
Appointing teachers from lower educational levels to coordinate higher secondary institutions undermines the expertise required for effective academic supervision, Sabrina says.
Instead of hiring experts, unemployed aspirants allege the government is hiring ReT teachers who are not qualified for specialised teaching. The situation is prevalent throughout Kashmir, where primary level teachers are being engaged as Cluster Resource Coordinators across Primary to Higher Secondary Schools.
Unlike the CRC appointments which require a minimum qualification of post graduate level, Rehabr-e-Taleem (ReT) was introduced by the Jammu and Kashmir government in 2000 as an educational initiative aimed at addressing the shortage of qualified teachers. Many teachers employed under ReT are simple graduates or less.
Under this scheme, teachers were appointed on merit basis, with preference given to candidates from their respective regions, particularly rural areas, with the objective of improving the quality of elementary education across the state.
Dejected by the poor remuneration and stagnation, for teachers appointed under ReT, selection as a Cluster Resource Coordinator (CRC) offers slightly better prospects.
Multiple Negative Consequences
However, the deployment of primary school teachers, particularly those appointed as Rehbar-e-Taleem ( ReTs), to higher secondary schools as Cluster Resource Coordinators (CRCs ), as per the norms of the Department of Education, has led to several negative consequences.
Speaking to the Kashmir Times, a retired government lecturer, who requested anonymity, pointed out some faults.
Firstly, ReTs are primarily appointed to teach at the primary level. Assigning them duties at the higher secondary schools contradicts their original purpose and training, he pointed out.
Secondly, filling subject specialist vacancies at higher secondaries with primary level teachers compromises the academic needs of students in classes 11th and 12th. These students require subject specific expertise, which many of the deployed teachers lack due to their long-standing focus on foundational education, he added.
Azad Hussain from Anantnag, a representative of the Teachers Joint Action Committee, while speaking to Kashmir Times, raised a crucial point, “ReT teachers do not have a formal transfer policy. If they are ineligible for transfers under normal circumstances, how can they be deemed eligible for deployment? We have repeatedly demanded that the government formulate a policy to allow ReT transfers in cases of health issues, marriage, or relocation. But the government's response has consistently been that ReTs are not transferable.”
Although ReT teachers have been demanding a transfer policy since the scheme’s inception, in March 2025, the Minister of Education, Sakina Itoo, informed the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly during the budget session that a transfer policy for ReT teachers is yet to be formulated.
Unemployed Educated Youth
Many see the policy of appointing primary teachers as CRCs as adversely affecting unemployed educated youth who are aspiring to work as contractual teachers or lecturers. Their rightful opportunity is being denied when existing teachers are reshuffled instead of fresh appointments being made.
A teacher from Bandipora, Majid Maroufi, said, “If the government needs to fill the vacancies of CRCs or subject-specific teachers, they should appoint fresh candidates on the basis of merit. Every year, hundreds of postgraduates pass out. By recruiting them, not only will qualified youth get employment, but primary and secondary schools will also not suffer due to staff shortages”.
Sabreena has faced this impact directly and reveals, “I served as a Cluster Resource Coordinator (CRC) under the CRC initiative for five years. But now, I am working in a private school as a primary teacher.”
“It is not just a matter of employment, it is also about staying connected with our subject,” Sabreena said. “Over time, I will either forget or lose interest in my core subject,” she added.
She is not the only one to be impacted. For the last four years, 30-year-old Riyaz Riyaz Ahmad, a postgraduate in Environmental Science from University of Kashmir, has been waiting to be employed as a CRC but has had to settle for a teaching job in a private school.
Employed on a modest salary of Rs 9000 a month, Riyaz is one of the many highly educated youth navigating the harsh realities of private sector employment in Kashmir.
Dressed in a formal suit and polished black shoes, every morning he alights a school bus at the gate of a private school along with children in their uniform, and takes charge, directing the children to form a queue with the discipline of a trained instructor.
For the last four years, has been unfailingly punctual to his duties as a private school teacher. Yet despite his impressive attire, the glow of youth seems to have faded from his face.
In quiet resignation, he reveals he has no hope this year at all. “Our District Shopian has not been notified by the (DSEK) Directorate of School Education Kashmir, regarding the appointment of Cluster Resource Coordinators (CRC) for teaching support in the revised notification for 2024-25,” Riyaz says.
Shopian Ignored
According to the notification released in July, a total of 164 Cluster Resource Coordinators (CRCs) will be engaged across nine districts of the Kashmir Valley, with the exception of Shopian.
“In the latest version, District Shopian has been omitted despite the fact that several higher secondary schools urgently require subject specific teachers,” Riyaz said.
There are 15 higher secondary schools in District Shopian and 67 vacancies in lecturer posts including Mathematics (11), Urdu (7), Political Science (6), Physical Education(5), Economics (6), Arabic (4) History (4). This information was provided by Chief Education Officer Shopian in response to an RTI (Right to Information) application filed by Nasir Khuehami.
The Kashmir Times spoke to Chief Education Officer (CEO) Shopian about the issue, who declined to comment, stating that he was appointed only a few days ago and has no knowledge of why Shopian was omitted from the latest revised notification.
According to the ZEO (Zonal Education Officer) Zone Keegam District Shopian, the ReT teachers were deputed on rationalisation basis because of a dearth of lecturers. When asked whether such needs could be fulfilled by appointing CRCs, he replied, “that is not my domain, that is the concern of CEO”.
A source within the department, however, said that Shopian was kept out of the notification because the Chief Education Officer did not submit the vacancy report to the Directorate of Education. This is because the vacancies have already been filled by appointing ReTs as subject-specific teachers.
Defunct Schools
The cost of this mismanagement is not only leading to unemployment and acute resentment among youth, but also weakening the very foundation of the education system - the primary schools.
Across Kashmir, several primary institutions have either become defunct or have been clubbed with others due to staff shortages resulting from these deployments.
According to official data of Unified District Information System for Education + (UDISE+), the Union Territory has 24,241 schools, including 18,724 government run institutions. Total enrollment from pre-primary to class 12th stands at 25.94 lakh but 46 percent of students attend private schools.
Primary-level dropouts doubled from 3.89 percent in 2022-23 to 8.87 percent in 2023-24.
It also mentions that 20 percent of government teachers in Jammu and Kashmir lack qualification mandated by the ReT Act, and nearly half of the schools operate without subject specific instructors in Math, Science or English.
In June 2025, the Department of education and Literacy (DSEL), under the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Government of India expressed its concern over the schools having zero enrolment of the students.
As per the official figure, out of the 65 schools having zero enrollment include 62 primary schools and three Upper Primary Schools. In addition, as many as 16 percent of the schools in Jammu and Kashmir have been identified by the MoE having an adverse pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR ).
Saleem Sagar, Chairman of the Teachers Joint Action Committee, expressed deep concern over the issue.
Referring to an example from Trehgam Zone in Kupwara district, he said, “A middle school with 135 students had six teachers appointed under ReT. Recently, two of them were transferred on a deployment basis to higher secondary schools by the Chief Education Officer and the Principal.
“Only four teachers are left to manage nine classes,” he said, as he questioned whether the teachers would be able to do justice. “At the end of the session, teachers will be blamed for poor results,” he added.
Sagar questioned the rationale behind these policies. “Throughout Kashmir, there are several examples where primary or middle schools have been clubbed due to teacher shortages caused by deployments. Later, teachers are blamed for falling educational standards. But who made the transfers? Who ordered the clubbing of schools? These are government decisions.How can teachers be held responsible?” he quizzed.
Many students feel equally harassed. Arsalan, a student at a higher secondary school in Anantnag district, says though some of the ReT teachers have a postgraduate qualification, they have no expertise as they have taught for several years at primary level. “They just cannot do justice,” he says, adding that students like him are compelled to rely on tuition centres.
To get a broader perspective on the deployment of ReT primary teachers as CRCs, the Kashmir Times contacted the Director of School Education, G.N.Itoo, and the Minister of Education, Sakina Itoo. However, despite repeated calls and messages, there was no response till the time this story was filed.
This story will be updated when he responds.
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