PRESS RELEASE-JAC-NOVEMBER ACTIVITIES

Joint Action Committee of Employees Association/Forum of
Navodaya Vidyalaya samiti(All India Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
Principal’s Forum, All India Navodaya Vidyalaya Staff Association,
Navodaya Vidyalaya samiti Employees Welfare Association,
All India Navodaya Vidyalaya Catering Assistant Association).
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Contact Address : Principal’s Quarters, JNV Periye, Kasaragod Kerala -671-316.
Phone: 04672234057 (O/R) Mobile :09447275766
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F No: 36/JAC/2009-10 Dt: 29/10/2009
PRESS RELEASE

The Joint action Committee of employees associations of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, in its meeting held at Chandigarh on 1st October 2009, has decided the following in order to draw the attention of the Govt. of India for the dare necessity to introduce GPF Cum Pension scheme under CCS Pension rules-1972 and 10% special allowance to the non teaching staff.
1. To observe 2nd November to 7th November as Black badge Days to express our resentments, by all the employees of 576 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas,Regional Offices and Head Quarters office of NVS.
2. A mass rally will be held at Janthar Mandir,New Delhi on 9th November 2009.
3. A Token Strike will be held on 16th November 2009 in all the 576 Vidyalayas, Regional Offices and Head Quarters office of NVS by all the employees including Officers & Principals.
Scheme of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas

The scheme for the establishment of Jawahar navodaya
Vidyalayas (JNVs) was approved by Union Cabinet in August1985 to give shape to the vision of the then Prime Minister Sri.Rajiv Gandhi to have a residential school system for the talented children, predominantly belonging to rural areas. The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) was established as an autonomous body under the administrative control of Dept. of Secondary and Higher education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. JNVs are fully residential, co-educational institutions providing free education including boarding and lodging, textbooks, uniforms etc. up to the senior secondary stage. Thus Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are addressing the needs of talented rural children of India who may otherwise be deprived of quality education. At present there are 576 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, one in each district across the country except in Tamil Nadu.
Though the Govt. of India has approved the extension of pay structure of Central Govt. employees to the teaching and non teaching staff of JNVs, when it comes to the question of implementation of GPF Cum Pension Scheme to the employees as per 1972 CCS (pension) rules in spite of repeated requests during the last 2 decades, the same has not been extended. The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti has also adopted Govt. of India rules and regulations on service matters for its employees mutantis- mutandis vide order no: F6-1/92-NVS(Admin) dated 30/03/1992 and also brought these employees under the purview of Central Administrative Tribunal.
Many representations were given during the last 20 years but it has not brought any fruits. Now Novodaya Vidyalaya samiti has introduced new pension scheme to all the employees who have joined right from the inception where as even as per the Govt. of India’s instructions the new pension scheme is not applicable to those who have joined prior to 01/01/2004. The legitimate right of the employees who have joined prior to 01/01/2004 is GPF Cum Pension Scheme.
When a delegation of Joint action Committee (JAC) met Sri. Kapil Sibalji Minister of Human Resource Development on 10 August 2009, he had promised to examine the rational behind the issue. Yet no positive outcome has been found.
Employees of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalays across the country observed a ‘Hunger Work Day’ on 5th September 2009 in order to bring our resentments in the notice of NVS and Govt. of India.

Rational behind demanding GPF cum Pension scheme for the employees
of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti who have joined prior to 01-01-2004.
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1. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas were started in 1985.
2. Initially employees were taken on deputation from various pensionable departments like Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Sainik school, State Govt. Institutions, different Departments and from various Ministries.
3. When CPF scheme was introduced in 1991, employees were not consulted with.
4. During 1995 Ministry of HRD had written thrice to the then Director of Navodaya Vidyalaya samiti to introduce provisions similar to CCS pension rules 1972 as it facilitate imposing of penalty on its employees for the act of commissions and omissions committed during their service period (refer letter Do no 8F43/95-UT-II dated 31st August 1995 of Deputy Secretary, letter Do no. C33011/10/81-vig dated 17 July 1995 of Joint Secretary and Chief Vigilance Officer, MHRD Dept.of Education, Do letter no.C33011/10/81-vig dated 10th October 1995 of Under Secretary Vigilance Section of MHRD reminding again to furnish the action taken report on or before 16th October 1995) .Inspiteof these three letters issued by MHRD no action was taken by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti to implement GPF cum Pension Scheme to its employees.
Are the employees at fault for not taking up necessary steps by the then administrators of NVS?
5. Extract of General Financial rules of Govt. of India rule 149(4)(IV) states as follows ‘ All Autonomous Bodies or Grantee Institutions which receive more that 50 % of their recurring expenditure in the form of Grant-in-aid should formulate terms and conditions of service of their employees so that by and large they are broadly comparable to those applicable to similar categories of employees in Central Government.’ Since NVS is provided 100% grant-in- aid, by Ministry of Human Resources development, the employees are eligible for pensionary benefits as available to employees of similarly placed organizations like, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Central Tibetan Schools, NCERT, CBSE and institutions under UGC.
6. Relevant portion of extract from IV Pay Commission report para 9.8 reveals that in so far as CPF beneficiaries in service are concerned it is recommended that they should be deemed to have come over to the Pension scheme unless they specifically opt out to continue under CPF Scheme. The Ministry of Personal Public Grievences & Pension vide office memorandum no.4-1/87 P1C1 dated 01/05/1987 conveyd the acceptance of recommendations of 4th pay commission and allowed all the central Govt. employees and employees of Central Autonomous Bodies to change over from CPF Scheme to Pension Scheme. However this option was not extended to the employees of NVS where as the same was extended to the departments like IITs and IIMs.
7. Many institutions like National open school(NIOS), Kendriya Vidyalayas ,Sainik schools, Tibetan Central school who have less working hours compared to teaching and non-teaching staff of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are granted GPF cum Pension scheme.
8. The employees of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are bound to work even after the normal schooling hours daily and also on Sundays and holidays taking care of the activities of the students under curricular and co-curicular activities being residential in nature. These members of staff are also responsible for the safety and security of 560 students in each Vidyalaya spread over 576 school situated in rural areas one in each district of India.
9. Organizations like Konkan railways, IITs, IIMS, Punjab University have been granted GPF cum Pension schemes to those employees who have joined prior to 01-01-2004.
10. The review committee set up by Ministry of HRD under the chairmanship of Y N Chadurvedi on the functioning of JNVs inter-alia recommended grant of CCS pension rules 1972 to the staff of Navodaya Vidyalaya samiti.
11. The Department Related standing committees on HRD, under the chairmanship of Shri. Vayalar Ravi, MP(Presently Minister of Overseas Indian affairs) in its 154th report presented the Rajya sabha on 3rd March 2005 and in Lok sabha on 2nd March 2005 has strongly recommended to extend pensionary benefits as it has been done to Kendriya Vidyalayas.
12. The departmental Related Standing Committee on HRD in its 184th report on Navodaya Vidyalaya samiti tabled on both Rajya sabha and Lok sabha on 30th November 2006 reteriated the implementation of pensionary benefits to the employees of NVs.
13. The 198th report on Department Related Standing Committee also has strongly recommended the Govt. to introduce pension scheme on the same lines as being extended to Kendriya Vidyalayas.
14. Your kind attention is also drawn to the letter no. F5-7/98-UT-2 dated 25th August 2004 addressed to the commissioner NVS New Delhi along with a copy of clarification from Ministry of Finance ,Department of Economic Affairs ECB and PR Division clarifying that the New Pension scheme can be introduced as a replacement to the old GPF cum Pension scheme. Conversely speaking having introduced the new pension scheme to employees of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Govt. has accepted in Principle that GPF cum Pension scheme should be bestowed with.
15. In the recent order of Ministry of HRD vide DO no.F4-26/97-UJ (A) dated 10th July 2009 issued by Director of (Higher Education) has decided to agree to allow GPF cum Pension scheme to the employees of 5 inter University Councils including National Assessment and Accreditation Council who have joined prior to 01-01-2004 in the respective departments and the expenditure on this account will be borne by UGC.
16. The above facts clearly justifies the demand of introducing GPF cum Pension scheme to the employees of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalaya samiti who relentlessly work day and night to mould the future mentors of this country for decades together and participate in the Nation building process.
It is under the above circumstances that the issue was raised through various Members of Parliament in the notice ofMinister of HRD and Finance Minister and authorities of Navodaya
Vidyalaya Samiti for the implementation of GPF Cum Pension scheme to the employees.
Can employees of any Central Government organization wait for more than 2 decades to get the legitimate right of GPF Cum Pension scheme? The above circumstances have forced the employees to adopt for organizing the following to express the frustration.
1. Observing ‘Black badge days’ from 2nd to 7th November 2009.
2. Mass rally at Delhi on 9th November 2009 .
3. A ‘token strike’ on 16th November 2009.
The Joint Action Committee feels that the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti & Govt. of India will not drag us to a strike situation as the employees are asking only for settling the issue of social security of the employees after retirement in spite of the fact that the employees of these residential schools work round the clock in taking care of safety, security, education and reconstituting the personality of students even on Sundays and holidays.

For JAC