The Left Front government in Tripura will continue to provide government jobs to the youths despite its limitations, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said.
"We would not stop providing government jobs to the unemployed youths despite the central government's various norms and provisions against providing fresh government jobs," Sarkar said while speaking at a function here Sunday night.
He said: "Tripura is a small state. It has limited resources. Despite the limitations, the state government continued to provide government jobs. The central government closed the door for fresh government employment."
Sarkar's statement came in the wake of widespread agitation across the state by a section of unemployed youths and various political parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, against reported deprivation of government jobs.
Many offices of the Communist Party of India-Marxist were vandalised and some of its leaders assaulted during the past week after the state education department issued to 4,606 youths offers of appointment as government school teachers.
"Over 122,000 job seekers had applied for getting jobs of teachers in government primary schools, we have given jobs to 4,606 youths, considering the necessity and government's ability. How would the state government provide jobs to all," Sarkar said.
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These offers have been made by Tripura for the first time in 17 years - that too without conducting the teachers eligibility test (TET).
According to the guidelines of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the TET is mandatory for recruitment of government school teachers.
"We started the process of recruitment of 5,000 school teachers in 2002. Due to various reasons, the process was stalled. The government took the decision to recruit 4,606 primary school teachers after studying all legal and administrative aspects," the chief minister added.
He said: "In near future we would provide necessary training to both the government teachers and the educated youths who would seek jobs in teaching. We are setting up many schools. For these schools, where would we get huge number of trained teachers?"
Tripura youth Congress president Sushanta Chowdhury said the Left Front government was cheating the youths by providing teachers' jobs without following the provisions of the Right to Education Act.
"In Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, thousands of government teachers' jobs have been terminated as both the state governments did not follow the mandatory criteria of the Right to Education Act in recruiting school teachers in the two states," he told reporters.