An open letter to the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi

Dear Prime Minister,
In view of the NEP 2020 Mission, I would propose the above subject for your early intervention and implementation, if possible, during your 100-Day Programs. Now, such a provision is regulated by the UGC for teachers in university and college in terms of salaries, allowances, and service conditions. But for teachers in the Government and private management, their conditions of service, conduct and discipline rules are governed by the Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules (FRSR). It is in this context that we need to examine the recommendations of the Kothari Commission 1964-66:
“…. The conduct and discipline rules applicable to teachers in Government service (and they are generally extended to teachers in local authority service as well) are the same for all other Government employees. There is no reason why this should be so. Each profession should have separate conditions of service; and the conduct and discipline rules for teachers should provide academic freedom which is essential to enable them to function efficiently. Moreover, existing conduct and discipline rules were mainly framed under a foreign regime when control of the political views of teachers was a major objective of official policy. Unfortunately, these rules, which have long become obsolete, are still substantially in force. It would, therefore, be desirable to frame separate and new conduct and discipline rules for teachers in Government service, which would ensure them the freedom required for professional efficiency and advancement” (The Report of the Education Commission 1964-66. Vol.1: General Problems. p.109. New Delhi: NCERT. 1970).
As a part of the conditions of service, we would suggest the following:
1. Formulation of a national policy on a separate and uniform structure of pay for school teachers. The adoption of such a national scales of pay has already been suggested by the Kothari Commission 1964-66 (ibid., chap.iii).
2. Creation of a single cadre for teachers like ‘school teaching cadre’ comprising all categories of teachers right from 5-year Foundational to +4 stage. Any teacher within the cadre (without categorization) may be engaged in teaching at any level: pre-primary, primary, or secondary, depending upon their qualifications, teaching competence, and need, so that we could utilize the human capital optimally. Please note that, for example, in the Manipur context, there are well-qualified underemployed post graduates and/or Ph.D degree holders teaching primary pupils. Furthermore, if possible, the maximum age limit for recruitment to teaching posts, along with superannuation, may also be increased.
3. Coordination between Institutions
In this context, we need a closer examination of the recommendation of the Kothari Commission 1964-66 as quoted below:
“…. At present, there is little practical coordination between educational institutions functioning at different levels of education. The people at the university stage criticize those at the secondary stage for a fall in standards; and those at the secondary stage pass the blame on to the persons at the primary stage. This situation of mutual recrimination has to be changed into one of mutual help, and this can be done by making each higher stage of education take the responsibility for improving standards at the lower stages” (ibid., p.75).
This was one of the recommendations made to raise the standards of education in the country.


Yours faithfully,
Dr Sarungbam Gunadhor
Singjamei Mayengbam Leikai, Imphal: 795008.
sarungbamgunadhor@gmail.com