Lakhs of hopes knocking at Naveen Jain’s door as edu department eyes completion of major works!

Jaipur: In this current government, Naveen Jain is the seventh ‘chief’ of Education Department and he has come to the helm of the department at a time when there is a mountain of challenges before the department. Prior to this, Jain has handled work in Labour, Roadways, Food and Panchayati Raj department but the work in Education department is more expansive, problematic and important.

The next three months are extremely important for education department and four major work related developments are going to happen in these months. Firstly, more than two lakh thirdgrade teachers are to be transferred prior to the election code of conduct comes into force. Second, posting has to be provided to more than forty eight thousand candidates (teachers), who have passed both levels of REET exam, in schools. Thirdly, laptops and tablets have to be distributed to more than ninety thousand topper students. And fourth, recruitment of about ten thousand English language teachers for English medium schools.

The transfer of thirdgrade teachers is in itself a major difficulty for the state government and the government had been postponing it for the past four years. But now it has become the political and administrative need of the state government to come up with a solution of this issue. It is a herculean task in which Secretary Naveen Jain will have to give his all.

Then, giving posting to forty eight thousand teachers who have passed both levels of REET exam, is a major exercise, specially in the election year since the government will have to accommodate political pull and pressure. The state government has not distributed laptops to children, even once, in the four and a half years and it is important that in the last six months, the state government works on this scheme worth 222 crore rupees. Officials prior to Naveen Jain have left this work on him. Appointment of ten thousand English language teachers is part of budget announcement and how will these recruitments be conducted with transparency, Naveen Jain will have to be immensely careful to show his capability in this regard.

Jain will also have to strike a chord with minister BD Kalla and MoS Zahida Khan as it is known that the there is not enough ‘understanding’ between the two ministers. It will be interesting to see how Jain handles the issues at hand and it would not be wrong to say that this is Naveen Jain most tough posting in his 22 year career as a bureaucrat.