Batote zonal education office without regular staff since 1991

RK Kichlu

Advertisement

Batote, April 19

The zonal education office, Batote, has been running without any regular staff except the zonal education officer (ZEO) since 1991. Employees of other schools have been rendering their services here in addition to performing their own duties.

Since the transfer of the ZEO, Batote, in March 2017, Lekhraj Goswami, headmaster, Government Girls High School, has been the officiating ZEO.

Sources said it was among the 22 new education zones created in 1991, wherein no other post except that of the ZEO was sanctioned.

So far, the Batote office is being run with the help of staff of nearby schools.

Two peons posted at Girls High School, Batote, and Middle School, Sawni, besides a computer teacher at Middle School, Batote, have been working in the office of the ZEO, Batote, in addition to performing their own duties.

Similarly, some teachers of nearby schools have been performing the duties of computer operator or senior assistant at the office.

The ZEO, Batote, is the nodal officer of 126 schools, including two higher secondary,10 high, 39 middle and 77 primary, in the Ramban constituency, making it one of the largest education zones in the state.

As many as 28 new schools from the Bhagwa education zone of Doda district are also to be included in the Batote education zone following the recent incorporation of some villages of Doda district into the newly created Rajgarh tehsil of Ramban district.

The sources said two junior assistants, one senior assistant, one head assistant, one accountant, one computer operator, one ZEPO, two peons and one sweeper were required to run the office.

Except in Ramban and Khari, all other ZEOs, including Batote, Banihal, Ukhral and Gool, are officiating. The ZEO, Khari, is retiring on April 30.

“In many zonal education offices in the state, no other post except the ZEO was created. We are facing difficulties in all offices of the ZEOs, but are managing by asking teachers of other schools to work for the second half of their school hours in the offices of their respective ZEOs,” said AH Fani, Chief Education Officer, Ramban.

“The Batote education zone is too vast to administer and it needs to be reorganised,” said a teacher.