Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot took to the microblogging site on December 30 to announce the conducting of the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination of Teachers (REET) in May next year to recruit about 20,000 teachers in the state. This has triggered a protest from youths in the state, demanding that 50,000 teachers should be recruited, not 20,000.
वर्ष 2022 में 14-15 मई को रीट परीक्षा आयोजित करने का निर्णय किया है जिससे प्रदेश को करीब 20,000 नए शिक्षक मिल सकेंगे। इस भर्ती में विशेष शिक्षकों हेतु भी प्रावधान किया जाएगा। इससे युवाओं को रोजगार के नए अवसर प्राप्त होंगे।
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) December 30, 2021
“In the year 2022, it has been decided to conduct the REET exam on May 14-15, so that the state will be able to get about 20,000 new teachers. Provision will also be made for special teachers in this recruitment. This will provide new employment opportunities to the youth,” Congress leader and the Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot had posted on Twitter.
He also directed state officers to prepare an action plan to solve the problems of para-teachers, madarsa para-teachers and panchayat assistants keeping in mind the decisions of the Supreme Court. The decision for the next year examination was taken in a meeting following which Gehlot took to Twitter to announce the same.
Following the announcement, a social media campaign with #REET_50000_नहीं_तो_वोट_नही started trending on Twitter on December 30 and December 31 as many users used the hashtag to protest against the Ashok Gehlot government for being insensitive towards the ongoing demand of the REET candidates in the state to increase the seats from 31,000 to 50,000.
In 2021, the Rajasthan Eligibility Entrance for Teachers (REET) had gotten embroiled in a major controversy. Protests have been carried out by hundreds of candidates levelling allegations ranging from widespread cheating, paper leakage and irregularities in Rajasthan during the holding of the REET examinations to the total number of seats. The latest issue for which the candidates have been agitation at the Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur for the last two months is to increase the number of seats in the REET exam from 31 thousand to 50 thousand.
REET-2021 was held in September to fill around 31,000 teaching positions in which more than 15 lakh candidates had participated. The candidates have been demanding from the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan to increase 31 thousand posts to 50 thousand for the longest time but their demands have gone unheard.
Candidates protest against the Rajasthan govt over demands of increasing the REET post
On December 30, several para-teachers (hired on contract), who had been staging a dharna at Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur demanding regularisation, attempted to march to Delhi to push their demands. The state police used force to stop the protestors from moving forward.
Rolling on the road dharna
A senior police officer privy to the issue said that the agitators wanted to go to the national capital rolling on the road, but were deterred from doing so. “The agitators said they will move to Delhi from Shaheed smarak by rolling. We did not allow this,” the officer said.
According to the officer, the protestors were pushed back toward the dharna site, and more force was deployed in the vicinity to ensure peace and order.
Fast unto death protest against the Congress government in Rajasthan
Candidates also sat on a fast unto death on December 23 to convince the Rajasthan government to pay heed to their demands.
Mukesh Chaudhary, a candidate sitting on fast unto death, said that a large number of posts are vacant in the education department, but even after this, the government is not paying any attention to it. It has been 8 days since the fast unto death protest was initiated, but our demands have gone unheard. We will give our lives at the dharna site itself but will not end the agitation, said Chaudhary.
The health of the candidates sitting on the protest has been deteriorating as a result of the severe winter. During talks held with the state government, we were assured that the REET posts would be increased but no action has been taken yet. The protest will go on until the demand is met, added Mukesh Chaudhary.
According to reports, on the third day of the fast unto death protest, Rajasthan Berozgar Ekirit Mahasangh’s Upen Yadav was admitted to the ICU of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital with a low sugar level. He has been demanding a CBI investigation into the REET examination paper leakage incident and fulfilment of 20 other demands.
Semi-naked dharna
Simultaneously, the candidates have begun a semi-naked protest in which they are sitting in the open in the freezing cold with their bear bodies to press the Rajasthan Congress government to fulfil their demands of increasing the number of available REET seats from 31000 to 50000.
On December 30, one of the protesters told Since Independence that “76 days have passed since we have been protesting at the Shaheed Samarak, but, till now, no MLA or government minister has taken care of us. Our demonstration will continue until the number of REET positions is increased, else, we will stage a dharna here and the protest banners will become our shrouds.”
The candidates protesting at the Shaheed Samarak slammed the Congress government in the state for turning a blind eye towards their demands. A protestor named Mahendra told the media present there: “We are the youth of Rajasthan. The Congress government here has only two options now- repeat or delete”.
“Why should we allow Rahul Gandhi to run for Prime Minister? He goes to all BJP-ruled states to make big promises, but in the state where his own party is at the helm of affairs, he remains nonchalant. Rajasthan’s youth are being ignored by the Chief Minister of his party. The young of Rajasthan were disregarded even when Rahul Gandhi came here for an anti-inflation protest. We are giving the Congress govt only two options. This Congress administration should decide whether it wants to be ‘repeated’ (re-elected) in the state or be ‘deleted’ (removed) for power after the next five years,” the protester said .
The REET seat controversy rocks Congress govt in Rajasthan
The controversy began after the Rajasthan government announced the hiring of 31 thousand third-grade teachers in the education department two years ago. However, the recruitment process is still yet to begin. In such a situation, the unemployed have pushed for an increase in the number of positions available. Unemployed people are calling for the hiring of 50,000 third-grade teachers. They claim that the number of open positions has risen in the last two years. In this case, the government should boost the number of available positions to 50,000. However, the unemployed continued to protest as the administration failed to meet their demands.
On December 24, 2019, the Rajasthan government issued a notification for the recruitment of 31 thousand people and announced that the REET would be held on August 2, 2020. Corona prevented the examination from taking place, and the date was postponed six times. REET was conducted by the government on September 26th of this year, and the results were also revealed. As a result, 11,04,216 individuals qualified as teachers. Level one eligibility was granted to 3,30,604 candidates, while level two eligibility was granted to 7,73,612 candidates. Following the outcome, there was a surge in demand for the post to be increased.
Instances of REET paper leak
Several instances of REET paper being leaked to applicants hours before the exam, and students being spotted wearing slippers with Bluetooth sets have purportedly surfaced, prompting questions being raised over the way the exam was conducted. As many as 20 government officials and employees have so far been suspended for allegedly being involved in the leaking of paper. The BJP has sought the resignation of state Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra, stating that if he does not resign on his own, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot should fire him.
REET cheating issue in Rajasthan
Satish Poonia, State BJP Chief, Rajasthan, was quoted as saying that the BJP demands CBI inquiry in the REET cheating matter. According to reports, for nearly 12 hours, the state’s internet was unavailable. To get to their allocated centres, several students candidates had to travel for hours. However, the inconsistencies and claims of cheating have sparked considerable dissatisfaction and calls to hold the teacher recruitment exam again.
