Marathi schools in trouble as teachers on election duty
Indian Express: Even as all city schools reopened after a two-week break on Monday, most of the government-aided Marathi schools are hardly functioning as teachers in these schools have been deputed on election duty by the state government. The teachers will be on duty in rotation till assembly elections to be held in October and parents are now up in arms over the issue, as they fear non-completion of the syllabus.
The schools in the city are already under pressure to complete the syllabus after a two-week closure owing to swine flu outbreak. The government has scrapped the unit tests in the first term and schools are looking to reschedule the first term-end exams after Diwali vacations. But the situation in most of the government-aided schools is worse as they are facing a shortage of teachers.
Over 100 teachers from these schools have been deputed on election duty, updating voters’ lists and dropping voter identity cards at the respective homes. The teachers, who are on duty from July 1, are yet to return to the schools.
School principals are a worried lot. “The election officers had told us that five of our teachers would be deputed. They would not be asked to do the full-time duty. They can teach in the school for half day. But since July 8, they have been put on full-time duty,” said Eknath Burse, principal of New English School, Tilak Road.
There are 1,900 students in New English School and these five teachers teach 16 subjects, including Mathematics, English and Science, to students of class V to X. “As a result, from July 1, 16 divisions in our school have one off-period a day. We don’t have extra manpower,” said Burse.
The parents are also worried. “All parents cannot afford private tuitions and their children are dependent on schools for completion of syllabus. If the school cannot complete the academics, it will affect the future of our students,” said Sunil Joshi, a PTA member.
Besides New English School, NMV, Bhave High School, Ahilyadevi and Ramanbaug have also been hit. Some schools have appointed teachers on clock-hour basis but every school cannot afford it as they have not received government grants for developmental work from 2004.
When contacted, deputy director of Education (Pune division) Sunil Magar confirmed that many teachers from Marathi schools were on election duty. “It is compulsory as the directives are from the Election Commission. But if some schools face extreme problems of completing the syllabus, we will request the district collectorate to provide concession in case of some teachers,” he said.
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