All Ladakh Teachers Association and Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) of Leh District took out a peaceful protest rally on 29th January from Govt. Girls High School Leh to Office of Chief Education Officer Leh till the LAHDC Office Leh, against the High Court order of the screening test of Rehbar-e-taleem (ReT). CEC Leh Dr. Sonam Dawa met the teachers and assured them that ReT teacher of Leh will not face any problem in this regard if they are honest with their education certificate. He said, “The problems of teachers possessing fake certificates are rampant in Kashmir and Jammu so that is why the court had delivered the order of screening.” He added that in our region only around 10-11 such teachers it is said, to have such certificates that too from distant learning university. He mentioned, “Education department is under me and any problem that you have I will address to it, and you don’t need to fear as long as you are honest and dedicated.” Earlier, Dorjey Namgyal, President ALTA Leh said, “We are against the ReT teacher’s screening test, because after the years of services provided by the ReT, what has forced the authorities to take such a decision. But we also understand that there is a step within this order to checking the fake education certificates, which we also support, however, this does not mean all the ReT teachers who have been working honestly and dedicatedly for so many years should undergo this test.” “ReT teachers have always struggled, they work with a less wage but continue to provide service so to say that they will be screened all over again is unfair,” Rigzin Namgyal, Vice President ALTA Leh said. The ALTA Leh along with ReT forum presented the CEC, Leh and DC Leh with the memorandum stating that this order will demoralize the teachers who have given service for so many years. ReT forum wants the government to clear the still existing ambiguity regarding the screening test because the target seems to be the distant mode degree holder, which means questioning the credibility of the UGC recognized university. The issue of Rehbar-e-Taleems (ReTs) basically came in May 2015, when a ReT teacher failed to write an essay on ‘The Cow’ and also could not solve a class 4 arithmetic problem when asked by a J-K high court judge. The court was hearing a petition in which a teacher was alleged to have obtained a fake degree. The court had also ordered an FIR against the teacher and directed the government to screen degrees of all ReTs. Rehbar-e-Taleemis a scheme where teachers are selected from among the people of the village who hold the highest qualification. It was implemented in the year 2000 under National Conference with an intention to lower the rate of unemployment and improve the literacy rate in the state. A teacher under this scheme was paid a fixed stipend of Rs 1,500 per month for the first five years of his or her service after which the services were regularized.