CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: The Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU), Jowai Circle, led by president Borntifulson Rupon and General Secretary Mewario Pyrtuh, met with the District School Education Officer (DSEO) to submit a memorandum outlining the severe infrastructural and academic challenges faced by Kiang Nangbah Government Higher Secondary School.
The JSU expressed grave concern over the deteriorating condition of the school, citing acute infrastructure deficiencies such as limited classrooms, outdated computer laboratories, lack of smart learning facilities, and a library that lacks essential academic resources. They highlighted a critical shortage of faculty, revealing that the morning section operates with only one teacher for 350 students, severely impacting the quality of education.
Due to the shortage of qualified teachers, language instructors are being forced to teach subjects across the Arts, Science, and Commerce streams, which, according to the JSU, compromises subject expertise and student comprehension. The union also pointed out extreme overcrowding in the day section, which accommodates around 520 students—350 in Arts, 120 in Science, and 50 in Commerce—with only four small rooms available for Science and two for Commerce.
The JSU further flagged administrative confusion related to land ownership, attributing the delay in infrastructural development to jurisdictional disagreements between B.Ed and Higher Secondary authorities. On the matter of staff remuneration, the union stated that assistant lecturers are not receiving regular salaries because they are wrongly classified under the BEAM category, which denies them salary increments and job security.
In response, the DSEO assured the union that all the concerns raised would be forwarded to higher authorities. The department promised to take appropriate steps, particularly in recruiting additional faculty, improving infrastructure, correcting budget classifications, and resolving land-related issues.
While welcoming the assurance, the JSU stressed the need for immediate action. “The quality of education is suffering due to a lack of teachers and overcrowded classrooms. Students are not getting enough instructional time. If this continues, the academic standard of the school will continue to decline,” they warned. The union reaffirmed its commitment to closely monitoring the situation and pressing for timely reforms to improve the overall condition of the school.
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