Dimapur, March 23 (MExN): The Naga Rising (TNR) on Wednesday urged student bodies to demand accountability of the school management committees (SMCs), the Department of School Education, and the Technical Education Department with regard to issues like teacher absenteeism, proxy teachers, which are plaguing the education system in Nagaland.
Lauding the student bodies for demanding action against rampant cases of teacher absenteeism, the illegal practice of engaging proxy teachers and the culture of transfer of teachers along with post and other related issues, TNR said that such issues “are not new to Nagaland.”
“The issues raised by the students’ bodies have been plaguing our education system for many years now. We have created a system that is neither sustainable nor can it create an ecosystem geared towards imparting quality education,” it added.
It said that the SMCs and the departments are the key stakeholders with powers vested in them to ensure the proper functioning of schools and colleges.
According to TNR, by the government's own admission, Nagaland has about 10,000 excess teachers. “With such numbers, we should not have the problem of shortage of teachers but the paradox is that, on paper, Nagaland appears to have the best pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), but in reality, teachers’ absenteeism and the culture of proxy teachers rule the roost,” it underscored.
It went on to state that the PTR “looks even more precarious when we take a closer look,” highlighting that in some government schools, the number of teachers is more than the number of students and teachers are deployed in schools with no enrollment. “These imbalances and anomalies have emerged as a result of unabated recruitment of teachers and allowing transfer of teachers along with their post over the years,” it pointed out.
Further, TNR stated that the Department of School Education has from time to time issued directives for strict disciplinary action, including suspension or termination of service against teachers illegally keeping proxy teachers in their place of posting.
Against this backdrop, it sought to know what actions the department has taken to address these long-standing issues.
“What steps have been taken to downsize the excess teachers? What measures have been initiated to streamline the recruitment process of teachers? What disciplinary actions have been taken against teachers found failing to discharge their duties? What mechanisms have been instituted to monitor and check illegal practice of proxy teachers?” it posed.
Expressing full solidarity with the students’ demands, it hoped that the growing proactive role of students to fight for their rights “marks the beginning of cleaning up the mess in our education system.”
