Month: June 2020

A meeting was convened by the Hon’ble Chief Minister to discuss issues related to the re-appointment of Sanskrit teachers

Gangtok, June 30: A meeting was convened by the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Prem Singh Tamang in presence of the Hon’ble Minister (Education), Secretary Education and other officials at Tashiling Secretariat to discuss issues related to the re-appointment of Sanskrit teachers.

As per the appointment order issued in June 2019, it was categorically mentioned that the services of these Sanskrit teachers would automatically expire if the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan stops releasing the fund. The Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan never paid any amount to the state government though the state government has paid the salaries to the teachers as per the appointment order. The copy of the office order issued to one of the teachers has been attached with this post.
The present government within one month of its formation decided to appoint all the Sanskrit graduates of the state as Sanskrit Teachers in various schools and accordingly appointed 124 Sanskrit Teachers. It was a welcoming step taken by the State Government though the qualified Sanskrit scholars were un-employed in-spite of their Graduate/Post Graduate qualifications. It was the sole effort of the present Government to pay the salaries as per the appointment order in-spite of not getting any funds from Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi.
Nonetheless, the Government has decided to reappoint all 124 Sanskrit teachers from 1st August 2020. The Sanskrit teachers who have acquired their B.Ed degree from a recognised body such as NCTE/ IGNOU will be paid Rs 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) only per month, on the other hand, the rest of the teachers not having the required certificate will continue to get the consolidated salary as paid in the past. However, the non B.Ed teachers will have to complete the required qualification as per NCTE and Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan norms within the period of (3) three years from the date of appointment.
It is important to note that the previous government had appointed the Sanskrit Teachers on co-terminus basis nevertheless, the new government immediately after its formation appointed them on the role.

S.D. Dhakal
Secretary to HCM.

Hon’ble Minister Shri. Karma Loday Bhutia convened a press conference at Forest Secretariat

Gangtok, June 30 (IPR): Hon’ble Minister for Forest and Environment Department Shri Karma Loday Bhutia, convened a press conference at Forest Secretariat today in view of the upcoming programme on “A Day for Mother Earth” scheduled to be held across the State on 7th July. The day is also coinciding with the closing day of the weeklong Van Mahotsav.

It may be recalled that the Government of Sikkim launched a new green initiative of dedicating “A Day for Mother Earth” on 7th July last year in South District as a step towards nature conservation and protection.

Hon’ble Minister Shri Karma Loday Bhutia informed that this year, there is a greater initiative involving environmental friendly activities to address climate change including no vehicular movement for 7 minutes and tackling animal-human conflict through the plantation of edible plants across wildlife regions in the State. These activities aim to contribute towards Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals for positive climate action, he added.

In his brief address, the Minister said that the State Government has laid emphasis on conservation of forest through various environmental measures in a weeklong nature conservation programme from 1st to 7th July 2020.

He appealed to the people of Sikkim to contribute to the initiative by observing no vehicle plying for 7 minutes except emergency vehicles on 7th July to avoid carbon emissions. He also appealed to the public for their active participation in cleaning their surroundings, jhoras and rivers throughout the week from 1st to 7th July and urged all to resort to eco-friendly lifestyles and create low carbon footprints.

Touching on the subject of man-human conflict, the Minister said that such conflicts are due to shrinking habitat and it could be tackled by introducing edible plants in the forests such as phunchey, bhadrashey, amphi, kattus, okhar and lapsi in certain regions of the State.

The Minister also informed that there will be a plantation programme for all the 32 constituencies of the State with a target of planting 1,000 saplings each.

The meeting also had the presence of Chief Conservator of Forest(CCF) Shri B.P. Pradhan, CCF Wild Life Shri D.C. Nepal and Member Secretary, State Pollution Control Board Dr. Gopal Pradhan.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister chaired a meeting to discuss on the issues of Sanskrit Teachers

June 30, 2020: The Hon’ble Chief Minister today chaired a meeting to discuss the issues pertaining to the discontinuation of service of Sanskrit Teachers. The Hon’ble Minister, Education along with Secretary and other senior officers of the Department attended the meeting. The Hon’ble Chief Minister gave a patient hearing to the points submitted by the Hon’ble Minister and officers of the Department.

Mention may be made here that appointment of these 124 Sanskrit teachers were done by the Education Department under the assurance that the fund would be provided by the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sanhthaan. As per clause 4 of the appointment letter, it was made clear that ‘term of service will automatically expire if Rashtriya Sanskrit Sanhthaan stops releasing the fund’. However, because of no fund provided by the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sanhthaan, the State Education Department managed to pay for these teachers and thereafter relieved them of their duties.

After thorough deliberation, the following decisions have been taken in the meeting:

The appointment of 124 Sanskrit Teachers, whose service was discharged earlier, will be made in the first week of August 2020 along with the other categories of adhoc teachers.

A decision was taken that those who have B Ed degree would be given an honorarium of ₹ 10,000/- per month and those who do not have B Ed degree would be given an honorarium of ₹ 8,000/- per month.

As per the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sanhthaan, it is mandatory to have degree/diploma in teaching for the Sanskrit Teachers over and above their Shashtri /Acharya degrees. A decision was therefore also taken that those who do not have B Ed degree would be given a time of three (03) years to acquire professional degree/diploma in teaching as per the prevalent rules in order to continue in service.

Press Release issued by:

Bhim Thatal

Nodal Officer for Public Relations and Publicity

Education Department

The Inner Wheel Club of Gangtok presented a Sanitary Napkin Vending Machine to the IPR Dept.

Gangtok, June 30(IPR): The Inner Wheel Club of Gangtok, led by the President Mrs. Asha Kiran presented a Sanitary Napkin Vending Machine to the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Sikkim today, in presence of the Secretary, Ms. Namrata Thapa, Officers and staff of Department.

Inner Wheel Club of Gangtok is an International Women’s Organisation established in the year 2000, and has been actively involved in various projects for the betterment of women and child. They provide voluntary services in the State of Sikkim for many causes that are in need of attention.

The President, Mrs. Asha Kiran, and Dr. Neeti Nepal Vice President of the Club apprised about various voluntary works undertaken by the Club as a gesture of goodwill towards the society.

The President informed that the Sanitary Napkin Vending machine presented by the Club is installed with 30 sanitary napkins. It is a self service napkin dispensing machine against a 5 rupee coin, as and when required.

The Inner Wheel Club of Gangtok, has already installed this machine at Government Colleges and M.G. Marg, Gangtok. They aim to install more of these in various State Government Offices wherein the number of women employees are higher.