By Biplab Kumar Dey
Williamnagar, Sep 2: For the children of Jalwagre Songgittal, a remote hamlet in one of the remotest corners of the district of East Garo Hills (EGH), education has been a dream that has turned into a virtual nightmare as children there have gone without any education for close to three years now. The reason – the appointed teacher has not gone to the school for the entire duration.
The village of Jalwagre Songgittal is about 20 kms from the town of Rongjeng and has about 110 households. It falls under the Rongjeng C&RD Block but comes under Songsak constituency. The school is also a polling station.
The drive to the village take close to an hour with many sections of road currently being constructed under PMGSY. The school is near the centre of the village and till the year 2020, had an enrollment of 70 children. The villagers are mostly engaged in agriculture and plantation and with the construction of the PMGSY road going on, it is helping them to make the extra income.
The school in question is over 60 years old.
“We don’t know what to do as we have exhausted most of our options. The number of students would have increased in the past 2 years, but with no teacher, everyone was left without an education. The teacher, who even earlier was irregular, has stopped coming to teach our children since the last 2 years. Taking the COVID situation into account, it has been three years since our children attended a class,” said president of the Jalwagre Government LP School, Salseng M Sangma.
As per the villagers, the teacher in question, Sengwan Marak, had been appointed for the school on a permanent basis. He had joined another teacher who was posted in the school and tasked with the education of the children from the village. However, the villagers maintained that even during the time of the previous teacher being present, Marak hardly visited the school or taught, despite being a permanent employee.
“After the other teacher died some years ago, the situation became worse. The future of our children’s education was now left to Marak, and as has been his wont, he stopped coming to school,” added the president.
A contractual teacher had been posted in the school but with contracts being thrown out of the equation, their situation became dire with Marak being the only teacher.
With Marak skipping school for 3 years now, the children have been left to fend for themselves. The nearest school is almost 7 kms away thereby making travel to and fro to that school almost out of the question. With no other option, children now play throghout the day until they are exhausted and need a nap.
“We raised the matter with the DMO about the absence of the teacher. However, despite the promise of visiting our place, there was no action. We also appealed to the deputy commissioner (Swapnil Tembe then) in the hope that our woes would be worked on. However, he was transferred and could not visit our village,” added Salseng.
They also spoke to the Block Mission Coordinator on their wards being denied education after which a meeting was called between the villages, the BMC and the teacher.
“The teacher then signed an agreement promising to come to school daily. However, from the next day itself, he skipped and is yet to come back to school to teach,” added the cook of the school.
No follow ups by the education department was forthcoming leaving the children to sit idle at home without education. The villagers, as a last resort have decided to appeal to the leader of the opposition, Mukul Sangma, who is also their local legislator in the hope that things can be brought back to normal for the sake of their children.
“We don’t know who to turn to as this is getting ridiculous. Why are our children being left without an education in this time and age? The government has failed us and our children. What hope do they have of a better future if they aren’t even given the opportunity to build it,” asked one of the villagers.
“We want to study but the teacher does not come. We are not attending any school for now but would love to go to school if the teacher does come to teach us. When will we be able to attend school again?” asked a student of Class II of school when questioned. His other friends and relatives who were with him nodded in agreement.
When contacted on the matter, the DMO of EGH stated that they had received a complaint and had asked the SDSEO for action against the erring teacher.
Jalwagre Songgital is not unique in the sector of education. There are several reports of similar schools in all the districts of Garo Hills. A report earlier mentioned over 100 schools in only the SGH district being without a teacher, mainly due to the government’s decision to scrap contractual teachers. The numbers in other districts will not be dissimilar. The number of students affected will also not be vastly different.
“If education really is a priority to this government, this is where they should begin. The situation is hard to describe in words. How can you leave children without education and that too for 3 years? If the department itself does not understand the value of education, what is the point of having such a department,” asked Rongjeng resident, Tuesbrial Marak, who also paid a visit recently.