Act tough against erring teachers: Education Minister Ranoj Pegu directs SMCs

Annual grants to school management committees of 41,396 schools distributed

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: State Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu has directed the school management committees to adopt a tough stand against teachers for dereliction of duty. The minister reviewed the status of various government schools, especially of Kamrup (metro) district, in a meeting with the school management committees (SMCs). He asked the SMCs to become 'vocal and strict' against teachers who abstain from duty without information or frequently come late for classes.

The minister directed the SMCs to propose action against erring teachers and to submit these proposals to the education department. The department, he said, would take necessary action against such teachers, starting with a salary cut. The minister made it clear that the government would not tolerate any negligence of duty on the part of teachers.

Dr Pegu was present as the chief guest during the distribution of annual school grants 2022-23 to SMCs of 41,396 Lower Primary (LP) and Upper Primary (UP) schools under the aegis of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The annual school grants amounting to Rs 109 crore was transferred to the schools through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode at a programme held today at the Rudra Barua Auditorium, Jyoti Chitraban, Kahilipara. Each school got grants in the range of Rs 10,000- Rs 1 lakh based on student enrolment.

Addressing the gathering, Dr Pegu said that the government had put an end to the policy of attachment of teachers. "It has been found that very often teachers take attachment in schools of their preference. As a consequence, the students of other schools suffer as their education is hampered. So the government has stopped attachment of teachers," he said.

Regarding the shortage of teachers in many government schools, Dr Pegu said that teachers were appointed in schools based on the student enrolment of those schools. Gradually over the years, the enrolment in many schools increased but the number of teachers' posts did not increase. This explains the poor teacher-student ratio in many schools. However, in some schools, there are more teachers than required. Here, the minister laid stress on the rationalization of the number of teachers in government schools. "Additional posts of teachers in some schools will be abolished while new posts of teachers will be created in schools which lack adequate number of teachers," he said.

The minister asked the SMCs to come forward and approach the government if they faced any grievances. He said that the Assam Government would soon launch a web portal named Vidyalaya Samiksha Kendra where the SMCs would be able to file their grievances and the government, he assured, would take steps for redressal. The minister informed that almost 97 per cent of the government schools in the State had been registered under the student volunteer programme Vidyanjali.

Vidyanjali is an initiative taken by the Ministry of Education, Government of India with the aim to strengthen schools through community and private sector involvement. This initiative will connect schools with varied volunteers from the Indian diaspora, namely young professionals, retired teachers, retired government officials, retired professionals, NGOs, private sector and public sector companies, corporate institutions and many others. Through Vidyanjali, volunteers can interact with schools directly and contribute to the institution's service/activity with relevant knowledge and skill set. The volunteers can also donate assets/materials/equipment as contribution to schools.

Dr Pegu urged the remaining schools to register under Vidyanjali. He also urged people to come forward and contribute to the development of schools through Vidyanjali. He asked the SMCs to engage various stakeholders in the functioning of the schools, improving infrastructure and ensuring a conducive environment for learning. The minister urged colleges to adopt primary schools and said that colleges which did so would have better chances of getting good grades from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Dr Pegu also made it clear that henceforth, only those employees would be appointed in government schools who had basic computer knowledge. He rued the fact that computers in many schools were lying unused because no employee in those schools could operate computers.

Education Advisor to the Government of Assam, Prof Nani Gopal Mahanta and SSA Mission Director Dr Om Prakash were present in today's programme.

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