The SRSU team at a government institution during the educational tour in Suruhuto range.
SRSU says Midday meals being ‘misused’
Suruhuto, March 17 (MExN): The Suruhuto Range Students Union (SRSU) on Thursday said that it had identified ‘major loopholes’ in the educational institutions across the Suruhuto range in Zunheboto district.
The Union, in a press release, stated that it had conducted an ‘educational tour’ covering all the government schools in the area from March 14 to 15. The tour covered 13 Government Primary Schools, five Government Middle Schools and two Government High Schools, catering to 1,033 students in the area. The statistical report of the union’s Annual Conference, Suruhuto area has over 6,500 students pursuing various courses and professions, it added.
As per the release, one of the issues that were noticed during the tour was the shortage of teachers in almost all the schools. Stating that shortage of teachers harms not only the students and teachers but also the public education system, it questioned the Department of School Education saying: “How can 6 teachers teach in 8 classrooms at one go?”
It further pointed out that lack of sufficient, qualified teachers and staff instability threatens the students’ ability to learn and reduce teachers’ effectiveness, while high teacher turnover consumes economic resources that could be better deployed elsewhere.
“It has also come to the knowledge of the SRSU that most of the teachers are getting transferred from political backgrounds without the concern of In-charge, Head Master, School Management Committee or any higher authority.
Thus, the Union express that this kind of practices should completely be abolished and if any teacher is found guilty of such act shall be taken care by the Union,” the release stated.
The SRSU also said that classroom strength being more than that of the teachers is being identified as a major concern and as such, appealed Department of School Education to deploy adequate teachers in the area without any delay.
According to the release, the Union also held discussions teachers of various institutions and came to the decision that starting 2023, a General Teachers’ Day programme will be conducted on September 5 every year. During the programme, teachers from all over Suruhuto area will come together along with students to celebrate, cooperate and coordinate for the betterment of the educational institutions and for the enhancement of providing quality education, it said.
Considering the workload of teachers and shortage in their numbers, SRSU President Hipito Achumi emphasised that the Union would start taking action against any government employee in the establishment of the Sub Divisional Education Officer (SDEO), Zunheboto if they fail to be punctual during the visit of the teachers for various school duties.
Meanwhile, the SRSU claimed that the concept and privilege of Midday meals are being misused in the area. “The circumstance of not providing a proper mid-day meal is a gross infringement of the fundamental rights of children. Lack of monitoring and huge corruption and misuse of funds has destroyed the scheme,” it said without going into details.
The SRSU further appealed to citizens, the local MLA, village elders, civil society groups like the STH, as well as the students to render their support and cooperation to bring equitable Justice to the student community. “The union shall stand strong and fight for the rights of the students and shall ensure better and proper functioning of the schools and institutions,” it added.
