SHILLONG, Sep 8: The controversy surrounding Pine Mount School refuses to die down with more students and parents coming forward on Thursday to support the demand of the teachers for removal of the principal, Aiom Ksiar Diengdoh.
The students agitated on the school premises, urging the state government to consider the demands of the teachers and parents.
Some parents said that during their visit to the school, they found that the school library has been converted into a classroom and the auditorium which was completed in 2016 has been left unutilised.
The parents are upset that there is no facility for a library despite them paying library fees of Rs 600 per month. The students complained no extra-curricular activities were being permitted. The playground has not been maintained and the grasses have not been trimmed for long.
While talking to reporters, a section of the students said they were regularly paying library and development fees but the school lacks such facilities.
The students also lamented that they were not allowed to participate in competitions being held from time to time.
The teachers, meanwhile, expressed disappointment over the failure of the Education department to remove the principal despite submitting two petitions.
“It is only now that the Education department has constituted an inquiry after two rounds of meeting with the senior officials,” the teacher said.
It may be mentioned that the state government has constituted a four-member committee to probe the various charges levelled against Pine Mount School principal by the teachers.
The decision to form the four-member committee was notified on September 1, 2022.
Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said the committee, headed by R Rapthap, Secretary of Education department, will submit its report and make recommendations for resolving the issues by the government at the earliest.
