Rongjeng, May 8: In another heartbreaking addition to the calamitous situation faced, mostly by government lower primary schools in the region, a single teacher, since the retirement of his colleague in September last year, has been struggling to run his school, ever since.
The school in question is the Darugre Nengbrok Government LP School which was established more than 80 years ago in 1942, even before the independence of the country. The school is also one of the two junior basic schools in the Rongjeng area and has always been a high enrollment school. However, since the retirement of the teacher, enrollment has almost halved with only 61 students attending the school from the 120+ students it had just a year ago.
The UP section of the same school lies within the same compound and has an enrollment of 29 students but has 4 teachers to cater to their numbers.
“I have been struggling since the retirement of my colleague last year as it has become almost impossible to provide quality education to students that come religiously to the school. The situation has become untenable as no new teacher has been allocated to the school,” said the lone teacher of the school.
What is scarier is the fact that the teacher himself is set to retire in another few months which could actually leave the school without any teacher at all in the coming days.
The teacher, who joined the school in the year 1991 has been a regular and even boast of teaching the current group of children as well as their parents when they were children.
As per the teacher, since the retirement, he has made three visits to the education office in Williamnagar seeking a replacement but despite the efforts, he has been left disappointed. The last time that he visited the office asked him to file a written complaint on the matter which he submitted on the spot with the department even asking him to name the 4th teacher in the nearby UP school.
“The first time I visited, I was told that they were working on a replacement. The next time I was told it would take a few more months and the third was the written complaint. I have done everything to try and ease the pains of the students and mine but have failed every time. I just hope the department takes this very seriously as we could very clearly be without a teacher in the coming days. This would mean the school shuts its doors and leaves the entire village disappointed,” said the teacher.
The teacher stated that the challenge was huge as he had to cater to 6 different classes most of who were dedicated but still naughty. He added that the challenge was not only the children but also the various trainings and extra-curricular activities that were now the norm in education circles.
“I do not miss classes as all the children enrolled come daily. I have not taken a break from classes despite the demands. I ensure these children, who love to come to school every day, get the best education possible but I am afraid of the future and what is holds for them. I feel apprehensive about approaching the education department after so many attempts went without any positive returns,” added the teacher.
As per him, when he joined, the school only had two rooms but huge number of students every year. They were provided an additional section and then another section to make for 5 rooms. When hail storm destroyed the roof, they were provided funds to repair, more than 7 years ago. Now the only infrastructure issue faced by the school is the kitchen shed which leaks during rains. The school has also been provided a new toilet structure recently.
While infrastructure in the school is not ideal, it is however appropriate for the numbers that the school gets every year. The problem is that of negligence that has become systemic in nature.
GSU president of Mangsang unit in East Garo Hills (EGH), Barnawell Sangma who originally was informed of the situation, felt the continued neglect to education was seriously criminal in nature and needed to be addressed at the earliest.
“This school has been there to cater to the needs of the local population since pre independence and has not seen more than two teachers looking after the education needs. Now the number has come down to 1 and the effect is showing. The lone teacher has been overwhelmed in trying to provide education to six different classes on a daily basis. What happens if he falls sick,” he asked.
The Union has asked for a serious look into the matter faced by the school to ensure the hundreds of houses that rely on it are not denied an education.
“I am sure the department is aware that the teacher retired and plans should have been in place to ensure another teacher took up the post to acclimatize. However no one has been sent or appointed and with the other teacher also set to retire, the school faces a shut down. Further the school has always been a high enrollment school which should be something that should have been encouraged. Unfortunately there are some that don’t really know the importance,” said president, Barnawell.
