Maha to conduct eligibility test for 'ashram shala' teachers

Maharashtra Government has decided to introduce an eligibility test for primary teachers of 'ashram shala' under the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
The test has been provided as a qualifying benchmark for recruitment of teachers in the primary and upper primary schools, an official said.
The government, through a resolution, has also stipulated minimum educational qualifications to be applied for recruitment of these teachers, depending on whether they are teaching students till fifth standard or from fifth to eighth standard.
The teachers in service now are expected to fulfil the criterion for educational qualifications by March 2015.

The RTE has prescribed minimum working days and instruction hours for primary and upper primary schools. For primary schools, 200 days and 800 hours have been prescribed while the same for upper primary schools is 220 days and 1,000 hours.
Residential schools run especially in the tribal areas of Maharashtra and elsewhere in India are called 'ashram shala'.