From Our Correspondent
NONGPOH: In order to gather firsthand information of the performance of the Government Lower Primary Schools in Ri Bhoi District, the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) Central Body led by its president G H Kharshanlor on Tuesday, conducted the spot inspection of Lower Primary School starting from Nongpoh area which will also incorporate the other parts of the State.
In the inspection, Kharshanlor and his team were baffled to see that the State Government had failed to meet the need of the schools as only two teachers were teaching more than eighty students of class I to class IV, which is in gross violation of the RTE Act 2009 which clearly states that the teacher pupils ratio should be 1:30.
The HNYF also found that, the State Government had not only failed to comply with the RTE Act but also neglected these schools in Ri Bhoi District as the sight of the school building was in pathetic condition with neither electricity nor water supplies.
Talking to The Shillong Times after the inspection, Kharshanlor lashed the MUA-II government for not implementing the RTE Act in letter and spirit, adding that, it had also failed to meet the urgent need in the education sector especially in appointing more government based teachers in Lower Primary School.
“The Central Government had implemented the ‘Right to Education Act’ and also instructed State Government to start implementing it, with the aims and objective to provide the right of the children for free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighborhood school, but it seems that the state government has failed to meet the urgent needs of the school” said Kharshanlor during the inspection.
“As informed by the school headmasters, the major problems that they were facing in imparting the quality education to the students is the shortage of government teachers in one institution to look over the school which is from Class I – Class IV” Kharshanlor said adding that, thanks to the Catholic Mission and also some Dorbar Shnong that they had lend their support to these school in appointing helper teachers.
Kharshanlor also stated that, the HNYF had strongly demanded the State Government MUA-II led by Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma to take strong note on the matter and also to take the initiatives in appointing more teaching staff in the Lower Primary School to ease the teachers in imparting the elementary education to the pupils and also to meet the other need viz, School buildings, water and electricity supply.