jammu February 07 (KNS): - Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, Vice President, G. M Saroori has urged upon the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri. Manoj Sinha and his administration, that the services of Rehbar-e-Khel Physical Education Teachers should be regularised who are working in Youth Services and Sport Department, saying placing them in probation for seven years on paltry remuneration is gross injustice and against the principle of equal work, equal pay.

As per the statement issued to KNS, Saroori expressed solidarity and concern with a deputation of All J&K Rehbar-e-Khel Teachers Forum, which called on him, and described their services in promotion of sports and overall physical growth of school-goers as significant, adding that the candidates engaged under Rehbar-e-Khel Scheme in 2017 in terms of a Cabinet Decision, is needed to be acknowledged.

He described as illogical the paltry monthly remuneration of Rs 3000 per Rehbar-e-Sehat for the first two years of the probation and Rs 4,000 for another four years probation, saying that this is even lesser than the per day minimum wages as well.

Saroori said engagement of 3,000 such workers under the Rehbar-e-Khel Scheme has made almost equal numbers of families suffer during these times of recession, as pulling on life on such meager wages is incomprehensible. These appointees deserve all the compassion and care, especially for the role they were playing towards the growth of the younger generation, he added.

J&K Congress Vice President urged the administration to consider the demands of the Rehbar-e-Khel workers, who are not performing lesser than the Physical Education Teachers by studying the prevalent pay-structure model in various parts of the country. He said these demands deserve consideration keeping in view the recent course correction in SRO 202 whereunder the probation period has been significantly reduced. Similar logic should be applied to these workers, he said, adding that by regularizing their services they should be placed in the same mode as that of Physical Education Teachers.

Prominent among those present in the deputation included Raja Shafeeq Ahmed, Adil Iqbal, Firdous Rather, Abid Hussain Malik, Mudassir Mir, Nasir Ali and Irshad Iqbal.(KNS)