Dhenkanal: A report of state Education Department suggests that as many as 108 high schools of a total of 133 such schools in Dhenkanal district are running without headmasters.
According to the information provided by the department, out of 133 high schools, only 25 schools have permanent headmasters. The rest 108 schools are running sans headmasters. In most of these schools, assistant teachers are acting as headmasters.
Apart from being affected by not having headmasters, some of the schools have a number of teacher posts lying vacant.
The government data indicates that 19 mathematics teacher posts out of 163 sanctioned posts, 13 science teachers posts out of 151, 42 Sanskrit teacher out of 142, 66 Hindi teacher posts out of 136, 43 PETs out of 138 and 111 Art teacher posts out of total 311 posts are also lying vacant.
Dependence on guest teachers instead of filing up the vacant posts on a permanent basis is only acting as kicking the can down the road. The department has appointed 93 retired teachers at a salary of Rs 12,000 a month.
The conditions of upgraded schools in the district are far worse. Only a few teachers are somehow managing education system in 11 such schools. No new teacher has since been appointed since April 5, 2016 leaving the parents worried.
The pass percentage in government schools has also been a cause of concern. Meanwhile a decision has been taken to abolish 27 schools for not having required number of students.
The education department is yet to take any discernible steps to fix the education system in this district despite multiple reminders by public representatives.
When contacted, district education officer Sudhananda Parida said retired teachers have been appointed as guest teachers at a salary of Rs 12, 000 a month. The government has been intimated about the vacant posts. The posts would be filled up only after government notification, he added.
It is important to note here that Dhenkanal had earned a name for itself in the field of education earlier. Students from this district used to get decent ranks in the list of state level toppers. Besides, these schools used to register good performances consistently. While the performances have degraded over time, vacant posts is said to be the main reason behind this.
PNN
