GMS Aliba without Maths teacher for 8 years; Mokokchung Town school lacks English teacher
Mokokchung, July 18 (MExN): The Ao Kaketshir Mungdang (AKM) has highlighted serious disparities in teacher deployment across government schools in the Ongpangkong range under the jurisdiction of the Sub-Divisional Education Officer (SDEO), Ongpangkong, following its fifth phase of inspection and visitation.
According to a press release issued by AKM President Lanutoshi Aier and Education Secretary Lanulemba Longchar, the inspection was conducted from July 14 to 18 and covered 58 government schools. The student-teacher distribution in these schools revealed both acute shortages and surplus of Primary Teachers (PT) and Graduate Teachers (GT).
The student-teacher mismatch, AKM said, has severely affected the functioning of rural schools. "Some schools are facing a shortage of subject teachers, while almost all of them have excess teachers," the release stated, adding that Head Teachers (HTs) reported challenges due to this imbalance.
AKM cited a particular case where a teacher, transferred to a new urban posting, was not accepted by the Head Teacher because the school already had excess staff. In contrast, rural schools continue to suffer from under-staffing, impacting the quality of education.
One of the most concerning findings involved Government Middle School (GMS) Aliba, which has been functioning without a Mathematics teacher for eight classrooms since 2016. "Despite repeated requests by the School Management and Development Committee (SMDC) and the Village Council for the deployment of a new Mathematics teacher, the department has yet to respond," the student body stated.
Similarly, GMS Mokokchung Town was reported to be in a “crisis” due to the absence of an English teacher.
Out of the 58 schools inspected, 29 were found to have an excess number of teachers. The student body called upon the concerned authorities to immediately review teacher deployment. “There are examples where a high school (classes A to 10) has 30 teaching staff, and a primary school (classes A to 5) has 16 teachers,” the AKM stated.
The organisation has urged for a thorough inspection of all government schools to determine the full extent of teacher shortages and excesses and to implement corrective measures without delay. A comprehensive report will be issued upon the completion of the inspection, detailing the total number of teachers, student enrollment, shortages, excesses, and grievances.
The AKM further warned against the employment of substitute and proxy teachers. "A stringent notice to all the schools that the AKM rejects the practice of employing substitute and proxy teachers and if caught the Office will impose strict consequences and disciplinary actions will be taken," the release stated. The student body reiterated its appeal for immediate departmental intervention to ensure equitable and quality education, particularly in rural areas.
