Garo Hills Teachers’ appointment row: Documents reveal over 150 SC/ST candidates selected, Edu Minister defends recruitment process

Shillong, Jan 13: A huge controversy erupted on Wednesday (January 10, 2024) after the education department declared the results for the post of assistant teachers for government lower primary schools under Dadanggre subdivision for MTET passed candidates, especially for the unreserved category. The controversy was further amplified when the Meghalaya unit of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) shared the results on social media and questioned appointment of a particular community in the unreserved category while alleging that the tribal candidates were ignored.

While the ABVP shared the list of selected candidates, it did not share the list of selected ST candidates, making it look like the appointments were only for the unreserved category. This quickly spiralled into a communal issue as the images of the list of the candidates began circulating on various social groups.

Reacting to the same, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma on Friday said the results declared for appointment of assistant teachers in government lower primary schools under Dadenggre subdivision, West Garo Hills District were based on merits.

He stressed that these candidates were appointed based on their performance at the interview. “Because it is the supreme power of the interview panel to give the marks to select based on merit,” he maintained.

On the allegation that the tribal candidates were ignored, the education minister said the question of tribal and non-tribal does not arise because the posts fall under the open category or unreserved category as per the job reservation policy of the state.

On Thursday, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Meghalaya demanded immediate stay of the results declared for appointment of assistant teachers in government lower primary schools under Dadenggre subdivision, West Garo Hills District and demanded an investigation into the alleged discrepancies.

However, Hub News has accessed the list of selected candidates, which has the names of 192 candidates selected, with separate list for each category as per the state reservation policy. Besides the 34 candidates selected under the unreserved category, 147 candidates have been selected in Khasi/Garo category. Similarly, 11 candidates have been selected in the other SC/ST category.

An important factor to take note of is the language spoken in the schools for which the recruitments have taken place. Garo and Assamese languages are most prominently used in the area, hence necessitating proficiency in these languages.

Full list of selected candidates here: