Parents, panchayat lock up govt school over shortage of teachers

Residents, parents and members of the gram panchayat today locked up Government High School in Haripur Khalsa village. They held a dharna on road to protest against the dearth of staff at the school. Protesters included parents of students, members of gram panchayat and the school management committee. The protesters demanded more teachers for the school ahead of the board exams.

The protest coincided with the parent-teacher meeting and “Pariksha Pe Charcha” scheduled at the school today. The school in Haripur Khalsa village, which is situated on the Nurmahal-Phillaur road, has 108 students and five teachers. Earlier, a Class VI teacher, who was formally on the school records, was shifted to a Sangrur-based school.

Ashok Kumar, a member of the school managing committee, said, “My own children study in Classes VI and X in this school. We have been able to upgrade school infrastructure with help from NRIs and donors. In the past one year, 30 students from my neighbourhood have shifted from private schools to this school through our efforts. But if there are no teachers in the school, how will students study?”

Kumar said, “Out of five teachers in the school, two remain on booth level officer (BLO) duties on and off. An English teacher was shifted to a middle school last month. The school already had less staff. Despite this, the remaining staff is being shifted to other schools. Days ago, we also took up the issue with the District Education Officer, but there was no response. Without teachers, how will students prepare for the board exams?”

Sources said the school administration had written to the Education Department ahead of the shifting of the English teacher. The school currently has no teacher for English, Punjabi and Hindi subjects. Social studies and computer teachers are also deployed on the BLO duties.

Gurinderjit Kaur, District Education Officer (DEO), Secondary, Jalandhar, said, “We have written to the Education Department regarding the paucity of teachers at the school. Temporary teachers will be deployed at the school as soon as possible. I will explore all options to address staff shortage at the school.”