Random Selection instead of JNVST 2011?

Umpteen news reports are found across the nation, both in vernacular and national dailies, about the postponement of JNVST and the anxiety of parents. Everybody is worried as many of these parents have invested lot of their energies for getting their children to prepare for JNVST and they are not ready to loose an academic year for the sake of admission in JNVs.  Lack of  reason for the postponement of JNVST  in the public notice issued by Samiti has lent the situation into a kind of mystery. Nothing seems to be moving in the direction of either notification or an amendment for RTE.
Samiti is left with only one option-going ahead with random selection. Recently Welfare School Organizations in Andhra Pradesh have decided to go ahead with the lottery system of selection. District Collectors are assigned the task of supervising such selection. CBSE, the agency which conducts JNVST, has asked the Vidyalayas to clarify anomalies in the list of candidates forwarded by the JNVs. Once the anomalies are corrected, NVS may go for lottery System. If any such decision is taken, NVS faces a gigantic task of managing its public image. Lottery System, which is legal, may not go down well with the parents. Parents,majority of whom are from rural areas, will not understand the nuances of RTE. They may think that the decision is a way of opening back door entry to non-eligible candidates and circumventing merit selection. It would dent the image of Navodayas which was hard earned by NVS with its credible and impartial selection history.

Online Payment of Salaries from NVS Head Quarters!

Many of us are yet to get salaries of March. Salary payment on time depends on the work culture of our office staff in our Vidyalayas. Some Vidyalayas even get salaries in the second week of the month as a routine. But the shopkeepers and milkwalas will not wait for second week! Samiti has evolved a strategy to overcome this administrative handicap. Union Bank of India and Samiti have joined hands to pay salaries of all the employees of NVS at one go through UBI Portal. Training program for vidyalaya staff is chalked out and intimated to ROs. If everything goes as planned, our past financial predicaments would become past from April 2011.

How Benevolent is the Benevolent Fund?

If you ask any Navodaya staff what is their main expectation from Administrators of Samiti for their welfare, the chances are that there would be only one answer across the cadres,regions and age groups: Govt of India Pension. Benevolent Fund idea seems to have flown from our Administrator's inability to fulfill our expectations. Something is always better than nothing! So let's welcome the move and appreciate the underlying genuine desire for the welfare of the staff.

One of the gray areas of the fund rules is the constitution of the managing committee. It's a norm across the world to include staff representatives and independent,honest and well known social workers (in lines of independent directors) as members of managing committees of staff welfare funds with enough powers to check  excessive use of discretionary powers(3.4.vi empowers the committee with unlimited discretionary power which is not required under normal circumstances) and misuse of the fund. So the Managing Committee needs to be inclusive of staff and independent members to establish  the credible trusteeship.

Economic backwardness must have been included as an important criterion, else the fund may become the benevolent fund for the 'creamy layer of NVS'.  Some kind  of cap needs to be established for the expenditure of the fund. In the absence of the cap, wastage and pilferage can't be controlled. I request the readers to leave their comments here to accommodate the varied views.

Stop Fighting! NVS has Space for More Than One Union!!

Since the untimely and unfortunate demise of JAC, T.P. Mani and L.B Reddy started the mud slinging business again. Sajith Nair,who has been at the forefront of this inner fighting through his blog, has resorted to a vicious e-mail and sms campaign against an attempted meeting by L.B.Reddy and Rai at JNV Baruch in Gujarat. It is necessary to point out that this blog doesn't endorse the stand of either groups. Both T.P.Mani and L.B.Reddy and their cronies pose a grave threat to the welfare of NVS employees. At the same time, we should also recognize their right to strengthen their cadres in a constructive way!!

What is the need of the moment is the realization that two individuals should not be allowed to play with the welfare and interest of thousands of employees. We can't even blatantly ignore their role in our journey so far. What is at stake is the name of AINVSA! Both groups want to project themselves as true owners of  AINVSA. This tangle can only be resolved by allowing them to start their separate unions with different names. Both of them should not be allowed to use the name AINVSA.  More than one union will always create a healthy democratic atmosphere! The one who can garner more than 25 or the majority will be recognized by Samiti. The one who looses has always the option of getting recognized in the future by working for the welfare of the staff.

Delay in implementation of NPS costs each employee Nine to Twenty Five Lakh rupees

The employees who joined prior to 2008 are entirely clueless about their social security and their old age is destined to be spent in unending woes. We are spineless and we deserve so. Employees who joined after 2008 are at least hopeful of making the retirement years comfortable with the retirement fund that could be created with proper investment planning. Please refer my previous posts here and here to know how one can ensure better social security with NPS.

But the unexplainable delay in implementation of NPS in samiti causes huge losses for post 2008 appointees. Samiti took around 8 months to bring out a notification after the approval of cabinet for NPS in NVS. Even after two years of cabinet approval, NPS is yet to be rolled out. Average contribution of an employee is 2000 per month with the same matching grant of NVS which amounts to 48,000 per year. Weighted average return of NPS so far stands at 12.3756 % per year. The loss for an employee for last one year amounts to Rs5000/-.  The corpus so far accumulated would have been around 53000.

The loss in terms of corpus at the retirement, for each employee it would be around 9 lakhs. If we start with the initial investment of 50,000 with 40,000 getting added each year with the 12% CAGR the retirement corpus after 25 years would be 75,94,829. The same investment without the initial fifty thousand would fetch only  66,44,826. The notional loss for each employee is around nine lakhs. For those who are 30 and 35 years away from their retirement, the loss would be 20-25 lakhs!!

No Clarity on JNVST 2011

It was hoped in my previous post  NO JNVST 2011 that NVS would be able to sort out the complications arising out of Right to Education Act  and JNVST 2011 would be conducted in time. But all such hopes seem to be misplaced.  JNVST 2011 is hardly a month away and still there is no solution in sight.
As per the news paper reports, it is yet to be decided by HRD ministry,whether a notification is enough or an amendment is required. We can't say how and where the idea of notification originated, but it seems to have derailed the whole process of finding a proper solution. We can't understand why Ministry of HRD is shying away from pushing for an amendment.Ministry of HRD seems to be illogically  vary of encouragement  such amendment would provide for  lobbying from vested interests in secondary education for further amendments and it may open a Pandora box. No body can dispute the special nature of Navodayas and Sainik Schools. The decision must be legislative so that the sanctity of JNVST could never be challenged. The amendment would also resolve the dilemma of  state government run welfare school organizations.Hope there would be an amendment for RTE in this budget session paving way for smooth conduct of JNVST.

MACP APPROVED FOR NON TEACHING STAFF

MACP was approved for Non Teaching Staff on 11/11/2010. A circular to that effect was issued by JC(P&E). The fate of teaching staff is not clear! The circular has no mention about that!!

It was expected in the month of Sept (view my previous post) that MACP would be implemented soon or later. We felt it was almost a certainty. Though this is a good news for our non teaching brothers,it has a dampening effect on the spirits of teaching staff.  PRC has recommended three stages  for teaching community and two stages for other staff with twelve year period for each stage. Govt notification has altered it into three stages for all the staff with ten year period for each stage. Now Samiti has accorded it only for Non Teaching Staff!!

We can't rule out  it would be extended for teaching community in the future. Considering our past experience of babu's way of (mis)interpretation of recommendations when it comes to teaching community, as in the case of EL and HPL conversion, we can't be so sure about it!

Where is the JAC?

It was a sudden unprecedented euphoria rising like a tidal wave that we witnessed just before the planned strike. Calling Off of Strike even when none of our demands were met dampened the spirits. Ensuing weeks ensured a kind of cautious optimism as JAC promised future action. Gradually the despondency and disillusionment is setting in! JAC seemed to have its untimely death!!
AINVSA  groups are trying to gather their strengths to consolidate their own positions! Intellectuals with insight such as T Surya Prakash (ex-General Secretary (REC) NVSEWA Hyderabad Region) have decided to distance them selves from these power consolidation exercises.Staff are being transferred on Administrative grounds but nobody knows as those orders are not put on website. Promotions are given.Request transfers are allowed even after an official ban on transfers!! Still no body knows. Website is being used only for  academic circulars. Are we compelled back into the non transparent and dark Navodaya days that existed a decade ago?

DECKS CLEARED FOR INTRODUCTION OF MACP SCHEME.

While Central Government Employees are enjoying the benefits of MACP (Modified Assured Carrier Progression Scheme), NVS employees are being made to wait for 12 years for seniority scale. A recent circular by the DOPT (OM No.35034/3/2010-Estt. (D) on 3rd August, 2010) has approved the extension of the scheme to autonomous organizations with a few conditions:

 (i)       The earlier ACP Scheme was also implemented/adopted by the said Autonomous/Statutory Body.
      (ii)       The proposal to adopt MACP Scheme has been approved by the Governing Body/Board of Directors.
      (iii)       The Administrative Ministry/Financial Adviser of the Ministry has concurred with the proposal.
      (iv)       The financial implications of adoption of MACP Scheme have been taken into account by the Organisation/Body and the additional financial implications can be met by it within the existing Budget Grants.

NVS can easily fulfill the conditions including the last condition. So we can expect an order at the earliest from Samiti extending the benefit.  How early depends on how sincere is our administration  about our welfare!

Navodaya students need it more than anybody else

Unveiling of $35 prototype tablet computer by HRD Minister Mr Kapil Sibal,raised lots of hopes across the world. To see a sample of reaction you can click here. It is a well known fact that Navodaya Children are growing up away from the world outside and everybody agrees that they need to be connected. A couple of years back during the US recession, I wrote a post on this blog why especially our children need an ultra cheap laptop (You can read it here ) .

I wish HRD Ministry would select NVS as the first beneficiary as and when the tablet is ready!

Collection of PTC fund violates RTE Act

NVS has been blamed for violation of RTE for JNVST(Please refer to the previous posts). But anothor aspect of our system may also be projected as violation of the RTE Act. Parent Teacher Council Fund may also become controversial and result in headache for NVS.It has been a practice in some vidyalays to collect a nominal amount of money in the name of PTC fund and use that amount for Vidyalaya development under the supervision of Parent Teacher Council. Collection of fee in the name of PTC fund may be considered as violation of Section 3(2)of RTE Act which says “no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him/her from pursuing and completing the elementary education”.

Let's hope NVS Administration would take stepts to educate the principals on the need for not resorting to collection of funds from parents in the name of PTC fund. Hope it would happen before the media or some out side agency finds fault with us.

NCPCR OBJECTS TO JNVST TIME SCHEDULE FOR 2011

As expected in my last post, JNVST 2011 is getting into controversy even before its prospectus is prepared. NVS has come out with a shedule for JNVST 2011 and the same was kept on its website. It also declared the result of JNVST 2010 and going ahead with the admission process. As JNVST 2010 had been conducted before the RTE came into force,this year's admission process may be a smooth affair.

But JNVST 2011 will not be the same.Dr Shantha Sinha, Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights(NCPCR)has written a letter to NVS seeking clarifications. She frowned upon NVS, while speaking to a telugu news agency,for declaring time schedule for JNVST 2011.Even if NVS goes ahead with its admission process for 2011, it may result in legal disputes.

The best way ahead is seeking an amendment for RTE.

No JNVST 2011?!

All of us are aware of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act which came into effect from April 2010.As per the provisions of the Act, conducting admission test is illegal. The new law questions the Navodaya's sysytem of 'talent identification and naruture method'. Section 13 of the act bars all schools from subjecting “the child or his or her parents or guardian to any screening procedure”. The section punishes those who infringe with a fine of Rs 25,000 for the first violation and Rs 50,000 per infringement subsequently. In the absence of a proper admission test, what would be the new criteria for admiting the students? Governament of Andhra Pradesh has recently cancelled a scheduled admission test for State Residential Schools. AP govt has decided to follow wait and watch policy until Minisrry of HRD will come out with a solution for admission into Navodayas. Lets hope Ministry of HRD will get exemption from the clause and the things will go smoothly without geopardizing the next year's admission procedure.

Family Pension and Invalid Pension under New Pension System.

Govt of India has extended the benefit of family pension to the family's of employees covered under NPS, in case of their untimely death before the retirement. In case of invalidation of employees, employees will become eligible for invalid pension. The calculation of pension in both cases would be according to the 1972 pension provisions. But this benefit is provisional as the new rules are being framed. Even after the new rule, some kind of regular pension is expected in case of above circumstances.

As NPS is notified by cabinet to NVS employees, all the alllied rules also come into effect automatically. Suppose a senior employee unfortunatley looses his life, what his family gets under CPF is less than 10 lakh rupees. What will happen to his family? Had he opted for NPS, his family would be secure. We need to think about this a lot in Samiti. We have around 25 per cent employees who are going to retire within a decade. What will happen to them, if we all madly reject NPS. Are we capable of getting 1972 regular pension? Do we have it in us to go for strike?

We need to keep in mind another fact too. Already 10 per cent of us are covered under NPS.Ten per cent of vacancies are there in samiti. Another 15 per cent will retire in five years. We have been mute witnesses to the inner fights across the regions and unions! We know the fear factor that has been injected into our cadres! Inspite of all these things, is it ok to be positive? We all need to seriously ponder over these things.

Special Allowance is not exempted from Tax

There is an email under circulation among the Navodayas claiming that the Special Allowance is exempted from Income Tax. As it is from one of the leaders of the Union, many think it as authentic info. Whereas the attached response from Income Tax Officer,Bhopal is not clear about the exemption.

Special allowances are exempted from income tax,according to clause (14) of section 10, if they fulfill the following criteria:
(i) Any special allowance or benefit granted to an employee to meet the expenses incurred in the performance of his duties as prescribed under Rule 2BB subject to the extent to which such expenses are actually incurred for that purpose.

(ii) Any allowance granted to an employee either to meet his personal expenses at the place of his posting or at the place he ordinarily resides or to compensate him for the increased cost of living, which may be prescribed and to the extent as may be prescribed.

However, the allowance referred to in (ii) above should not be in the nature of a personal allowance granted to the assessee to remunerate or compensate him for performing duties of a special nature relating to his office or employment.

Para 7.21.3 of VI PRC report,based on which NVS Teachers are granted special allowance, says that "the Government should consider grant of a special allowance in these(read navodayas) schools on par with that being recommended by the Commission for Military Schools in Ministry of Defence and the Oak Grove School in Ministry of Railways"

Now look at Para 7.36.93, pay commission clearly says the reason for granting such allowance which reads like this:the Commission has recommended a special allowance of 10% for Military Schools on account of special functions that need to be performed by Teachers/other residential staff working in the residential schools.

Any one can clearly understand that the special allowance which we get is due to 'the special nature of work' but not either 'to compensate for the increased cost of living' or "to meet the expenses incurred in the performance of our duties". So our allowance will not fall under exempted allowances.

What worries everybody is the vulnerability of our staff to be misled. We need to educate ourselves.