Engaging the youth in more constructive and developmental themes should have been order of the day. For this the government should have provided all the necessary support and help to those departments which could have paved way for the engagement of youth in various activities.

However, the government it seems is thinking on a different plank. Take for an example the case of the Department of Youth Service and Sports (DYSS) of the State.

The department which should have been made more vibrant and vigorous is faced with various issues wherein the officials posted in this department feel suffocated and are suffering from low morale owing to the lackadaisical attitude of the government.

The department of DYSS was opened in early sixties with an aim to give impetus to the activities of engaging the youth of the state in various extracurricular activities. The department was part of the Education Department however, given the way the then government saw it role on a gibber canvas, the department got independent status in 1973.

Following this decision the staff in the department comprising Physical Education Teachers or Physical Education Masters were placed at par with their counterparts in the Education Department in terms of grade, promotion and other benefits.

However, the DYSS was again re-organized in the year 2006 and after a series of endeavours, the department established its own rules in 2015. The rules meant several changes at the administrative level.

The new rules meant that Physical Education teachers and Masters were promoted and made in-charge District Officers, Assistant Directors and even Deputy Directors. However, the rules framed were not implemented fully which meant that the officials who were otherwise engaged as working in the Department of Youth Services and Sports have been and are retiring as Physical Education Masters just because new rules framed for the staff of the department are not enforced.

The officials are puzzled over this move of the government and want to know why the rules and regulations freshly framed in 2015 have remained unimplemented till date and in this way the incumbents are subjected to loss both financially and in terms of status.

The anomaly is that while Physical Education Teachers and Physical Education Masters are paid at par with the Teachers and Masters of the Education Department, Physical Education Lecturers have been at the receiving end vis-a-vis their confirmation and Pay Scale despite clear-cut directions by the High Court. The court had passed a judgment vide in this regard way back in 2012. 

Guest