Srinagar, Jun 24: The long-pending issue of pensionary benefits for thousands of former Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers in Jammu and Kashmir has resurfaced, with the School Education Department (SED) and the Office of the Principal Accountant General (A&E), J&K, seeking clarity on the admissibility of five years of service rendered by ReTs prior to their regularisation for pension purposes.
The latest developments comes after the Accountant General’s office sought a formal clarification from the J&K School Education Department (SED) regarding the interpretation of government orders and court rulings governing the counting of ReT service for pensionary benefits.
According to official communications, the Accountant General’s office raised the issue following a representation from the Zonal Education Officer, Banihal, which stated that service rendered under the Rehbar-e-Taleem scheme does not qualify for pension and that only service rendered after regularisation as Regular Rehbar-e-Taleem (RReT) should be considered for pensionary benefits.
The Accountant General’s office, however, stated that the matter was not free from ambiguity and required administrative clarification.
It pointed to Government Order No. 15-Edu of 2008, which had provided that five years of service rendered as a ReT on honorarium basis would count as qualifying service exclusively for pension, subject to continuous service and subsequent regularisation as a general line teacher.
The office also referred to Government Order No. 469-Edu of 2014, issued following Cabinet Decision No. 115/09/2014, which modified the earlier provision and stipulated that five years of service rendered before regularisation would count for fixing seniority and would also be reckoned notionally for pensionary and other retirement benefits wherever applicable.
However, subsequent litigation altered the legal landscape. While a Single Bench upheld the government order, a Division Bench of the High Court later struck down the provision relating to counting ReT service for fixing seniority but left intact the provisions concerning pensionary and retirement benefits.
Citing the phrase “wherever applicable” in the 2014 order, the Accountant General’s office observed that uncertainty persists over whether the five-year ReT service should be treated as full qualifying service for pension in all cases or only for making up deficiencies in the minimum qualifying service required to earn pension.
The AG’s office accordingly sought clarification from J&K SED on whether the five years of service rendered as ReT qualify for pensionary benefits and whether any upper limit exists on the extent to which such service can be counted.
In wake of this, the J&K SED in its official communication addressed to AG’s office has stated that issue has already been settled through the 2014 Cabinet decision and the subsequent government order.
In a communication issued on June 19 of 2026, SED informed the Principal Accountant General that the Cabinet decision specifically approved the reckoning of five years of service rendered by ReT teachers before regularisation for pensionary and other retirement benefits.
“The Cabinet approved the reckoning of the five years of service, rendered by ‘Rehbar-e-Taleem’ teachers before regularization, for the purpose of fixing their seniority and counting such service, notionally, for pensionary and other retirement benefits, wherever applicable,” an official communication signed by Under Secretary SED, reads.
“It was also decided that, after regularization, the services of ‘Rehbar-e-Taleem’ teachers shall be transferable within the district to which they belong.”
The SED communication reads that the aforementioned Cabinet decision was implemented vide Government Order No. 469-Edu of 2014 dated June 25 of 2014 by the Department.
“However, the said Government order has subsequently been quashed only to the extent it provides for counting such service towards seniority. The remaining provisions, including those relating to pensionary and other retirement benefits, continue to remain operative,” the official document reads.
It further reads that the SED may further be informed whether pension cases of similarly situated Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers have already been settled by reckoning the aforesaid five years’ service rendered prior to regularization.
“If so, the reasons necessitating the present reference on the issue may also be intimated. Alternatively, the pending cases may be settled in terms of aforementioned Cabinet Decision, as the provisions contained therein are clear and self-explanatory in nature and does not warrant any further clarification,” the official communication reads.
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