TURA: Negligence on the part of education officials with regard to education in South Garo Hills has once again come to the fore with the revelation that a particular village government school in the district has remained non-functional for over a year now.
According to the President of the Mindikgre unit of the GSU, Greneth M Sangma, the school in question is the Radigre Government LP School in Mindikgre area which is under Baghmara BMC. Due to the school being non-functional for such a long time, parents of the children are left with no other option but have to switch to other schools to ensure that their children are not deprived of a proper education.
Sangma put the blame on the Sub-Divisional School Education Officer for the situation. “The school being non-functional for such a long period of time has gravely affected the students as final examinations are now just round the corner. This is gross negligence on the part of the concerned department for which you are responsible,” the GSU leader said in his complaint letter to the official.
According to the GSU leader, the department had also recently appointed one new teacher, Phillin Marak of Chokpot area in place of existing teacher, Ulikush Ch Sangma. However, although charge had already been handed over, the new teacher has failed to attend the school for a single day since he took charge resulting in the school being abandoned till date.
The GSU leader also questioned the roles of School Inspectors, who he claims rarely visits the schools for inspections.
Earlier in the past, the GSU leader had also written to the Director of School Education and Literacy in Shillong on the poor functioning of Government LP schools in the district. As per the complaint, teacher absenteeism is also taking place in schools under Chokpot some of which being at the Watigre Government LP School, Dendamgre Government LP School and Sabiagre Government LP School, while another, the Ranigri Government LP School has been completely abandoned.
The student body while strongly condemning the actions of the erring teachers had also questioned the concerned authorities who have remained mute spectators to these incidents. The letter also sought action against concerned school inspectors for not carrying out regular inspections of schools. Copies of the same letter were also forwarded to the chief minister and the Tura MP at the same time.
