Change Adarsh schools’ mgmt or shut them: Panchayats to CM

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, December 4

Fed up with over one year of fight between teachers and management of Government Adarsh Schools in their villages, the panchayats of Midduman and Pacca villages here today passed a resolution demanding the interference of the Chief Minister in changing the management of the schools or closing them.

“For these recurring squabbles between the staff and management, every other day the police visit the Government Adarsh School in my village, which has an adverse effect on the students,” said Chamkaur Singh, sarpanch of Midduman village.

“Instead of imparting good quality education, the Adarsh school in my village is a hub of regular fights, squabbles and controversies. Nothing good can be expected from a school whose administrator has remained in jail for over two months within one year and who is facing as many as four criminal cases, including of sexual harassment, corruption and embezzlement, and even forcing schoolchildren to do labour work,” said Chamkaur Singh.

“In our resolution, we have demanded the Chief Minister and Education Minister to give importance to this issue as future of children in these two villages and those of adjoining areas is being spoiled with such poor atmosphere in these Adarsh schools, which were started with much fanfare with slogan of imparting quality and ideal education to the students in rural area,” said Rajbir Kaur, a panch in Pacca village.

“We don’t know about the fate of other Adarsh schools in the state but the schools in our villages are a den of controversies and corruption and most of the times the students return home without getting any education,” rued Sukhdev Singh, a numberdar in Pacca village.

“In a school where the teachers have not been given salaries for the last over five months, expecting them to give quality education to the students is like living in a fool’s paradise,” said Amarjit Singh, another numberdar.

The residents of both these villages today submitted the copies of their resolution to Sunny Brar, OSD to the Chief Minister. I will raise the issue with the Chief Minister and apprise him of the situation,” said Brar.

Narinder Singh Randhwa, the administrator of both these Adarsh schools, has been embroiled in many controversies ever since he was given the administration of these schools in October 2016. He was arrested by the police in March this year for allegedly misappropriating salaries of four teachers. While he was already facing allegations of sexual harassment in another case registered against him in February this year, on September 6, Randhwa and his son were booked by the police in a rape case. The victim in this case is a teacher in one of these Adarsh schools.