TURA, July 22: Various prominent local bodies from Tura town on Thursday came together to oppose the Meghalaya government’s move to allow incumbent Dadenggre SDSEO, Ella Begum to hold dual charge as DSEO, Tura and demanded that she be immediately removed and a full-fledged authority be appointed to the post.
The various local bodies including, the Senior Citizens Forum Tura (SCFT), Garo Graduates’ Union (GGU), Association for Democracy and Empowerment (ADE), AYWO, FKJGP, GSU and the New Tura Development Forum (NTDF), in their memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui, gave the government seven days time to act on the matter while warning that they would be forced to initiate their own course of action if it fails to do so.
The organizations reminded that as it is, Begum is arbitrarily holding her post without any office order and many court cases are pending against her as well as disciplinary action by the department which was earlier recommended by the Assembly Committee for alleged irregularities and anomalies in her functioning. Justifying their opposition towards the official, they pointed out that, organizations from Dadenggre had earlier reacted in a similar manner when Begum was promoted as the Principal of Dadenggre Puri Secondary School.
“She was not even allowed to enter the office to join her post when she was promoted as Principal of the said school. We are also on the same footing and strongly oppose her posting as the DSEO, Tura,” Ade President Dalseng Bira Ch Momin said.
The organizations also suggested that temporary arrangement and the appointment of in-charge officers in the Department of Education has to be done away with for better functioning and administration of the department while at the same time encouraging appointment of officers on regular basis to uplift the morale, work culture and efficiency of the Government servants. They urged the government to direct the concerned department to take immediate steps towards the matter.
Pointing out that many important posts in the Education Department are still lying vacant in Garo Hills, the organizations also demanded that all such posts are filled up immediately with deserving regular officers taking into account their efficiency and capability and without biasness and political interference.
The organizations also pointed to the recent publication of Performance Grading Index (PGI) which tagged Meghalaya as the ‘Worst performer in school education’ and said that the situation needs to be rectified. They urged the government to be proactive in equipping schools with sufficient teaching professionals, giving special care to infrastructural position of rural schools which are in dilapidated conditions.