Yet another insult to NACEN
The Nation’s President and Prime Minister are eminent teachers, but they are there by sheer chance, not out of any respect we have for education or educationists! DDT had earlier commented on the pathetic way the premier academy, NACEN is treated by the powers that be. Apparently the babus have no respect for NACEN as the recent transfer orders of Joint/Additional Commissioners of CBEC would show.
There is an impeccably honest hard working officer who is an asset in any post in the field. He had headed some very notorious posts at the most difficult times but came out unscathed with his integrity and job intact. A rare and fast dwindling species!. He is capable of handling any job better than any of his colleagues and by posting him in the field, at least one slot is occupied by an honest person. But there is one job where he will be a misfit and sure enough the latest transfer order finds him exactly in that place - NACEN. By posting him to NACEN, the Board is getting a very bad officer in NACEN and losing an excellent officer in the field.
There is another officer, an excellent communicator, certainly a very good teacher, but he has certain vigilance problems and trouble with CBI. Exasperated, he quit the department but they will not let him go. His resignation is not accepted and he does not come to office. Now they have posted him to NACEN! Not because he is good, but because they think he is bad and not good for the field. This is no comment on the man’s integrity, but a sad commentary that officers land up in NACEN for all wrong reasons.
There is yet another officer who was working in NACEN. He was in NACEN because he was in the ODI list of CBI. Again no comment on the officer. CBI could be wrong! But because of that, he could not be given any other posting, but NACEN is good enough! Now he is out of observation and Lo and Behold out of NACEN too. All the three officers mentioned here are exceptionally capable nice officers, but the point is they are in or out of NACEN, not for any qualities related to NACEN.
The Supreme Court’s judgement, the need for making quality officers for future, respect to education – nothing works. NACEN is a dumping ground. And everybody speaks about the importance of training. In the Defence Forces, the Academy is headed by a Lt. General, the number 2 officer in the force and it is never considered a bad posting.
DDT’s comments about NACEN were not well received, sadly, even by NACEN bosses. We are talking of vesting status and power on NACEN so that NACEN becomes a citadel of learning and talent, not a pathetic apology for a training school. Investment in HRD is never a waste. We have made fiscal investments; we should make human investment too. To start with only eminent officers with a high degree of knowledge and leadership skills should be posted to the Academy. If this is not possible, at least the practice of dumping unwanted officers in NACEN should stop. A posting in NACEN should be considered prestigious and for this only the very best should be posted there and they should be given all possible incentives. If you have officers whom you do not want to post anywhere, keep them at home and pay them; that is better and cheaper than posting them to NACEN.
While on NACEN, DDT cannot resist the temptation of taking a name. Nearly two decades ago, Mr B V Kumar who was a member of the CBEC was eased out of the Board and posted as DG, NACEN. He took his new job seriously and changed the face of NACEN. He elevated it from elementary school level to University level in spite of personal humiliation. And very recently Ms Parveen Talha took NACEN to international repute. We need more such officers in NACEN. Five batches of well trained and disciplined probationers and the future of the department is assured for the next thirty years!
I must confess I have a personal stake in all this. NACEN pays Rs. 400/- for a lecture and I used to make a nice little pack with my lectures in NACEN. Now they will blacklist me. (Or have already done so)