Teacher unrest eclipsed govt bid to boost education

Yet another year gone by, but there is hardly any change in the education arena across the state with teaching and non-teaching staff at government schools resorting to protests every now and then.

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Highs

• 118 Schools of Eminence set up
• Parent-teacher meetings started to provide regular feedback to parents
• Transportation facilities started in Schools of Eminence and 17 girls senior secondary schools
• 150 headmasters provided training at the IIM, Ahmedabad
• 72 teachers received specialised training at University of Turku in Finland

Lows

• Shortage of teachers in government schools
• Protests by teaching and non-teaching staff
• Despite assurances, teachers continue to be deployed on poll and mid-day meal duties
• Outdated computer programmes for students
• Insufficient seating arrangements and absence of clean drinking water

Going with the current scenario, there is hardly any hope of improvement in the situation even during the remaining tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

Newspapers and other media are flooded with discordant voices of teachers in Sangrur, Fazilka, Amritsar, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Faridkot, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Anandpur Sahib and other areas.

There is a sizable shortage of teachers in government schools across the state, although officials deny the figures. Government Teachers Union president Sukhwinder Singh Chahal puts the number at over 7,000.

Ropar district alone has 110 single-teacher schools and 14 schools without any teacher. Things are being managed in ad hoc manner by drawing teachers from other schools on temporary basis.

Chahal says, “We were recently told by the Education Minister that the government would shut down a number of schools.” Denying that, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said, “This is an absolute lie.” Teachers also reacted sharply to a recent “no work, no pay” order by the government. “We are agitating because we are not being allowed to work,” a teacher from Hoshiarpur district said.

“There is no future without computers, but majority of schools lack the requisite paraphernalia. There is a big shortage of teachers. The programmes are very basic and outdated, leading to an increasing digital divide between students of government and private schools,” a senior computer teacher said.

There is no uniformity in teaching standards at over 19,500 government schools that cater to over 28 lakh students.

Besides regular teacher hiring exercise, the government is also making efforts to improve school infrastructure. At least 1,689 campus managers, 1,265 security guards and 8,286 sanitation staff have been recruited.

Students were provided free uniforms and books at the beginning of the session. At least Rs 120.43 crore has been provided for constructing toilets, classrooms, laboratories etc at schools.

The Education Minister has also initiated district-level programmes to gather suggestions from teachers and school heads for improvements in government schools.