PMC schools lack teachers, finds RTI query

DNA: Pune: Sunday, May 05, 2013.

It reveals that on an average a teacher handles 45 students. Many Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) schools are struggling with inadequacy of staff for their secondary sections at a time when the centre is trying to make Right To Education Act, 2009, a successful story. A teacher working with PMC-run secondary school handles an average of 45 students.

The PMC secondary schools do not have adequate staff to teach the students of standard VIII, IX and X. Besides, the post of education officer for secondary schools too has been vacant since Pushpalata Pawar joined the Pune division of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education as secretary.

This was revealed when activist Vivek Velankar sought information on manpower available with the PMC-run schools under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Velankar said, “If the PMC schools do not have the staff, it directly affects the schools’ quality. Similarly, it seems that PMC is not in a mood to fill the vacant posts.”

“In absence of an education officer for secondary schools, PMC education officer Shivaji Daundkar is holding the additional charge of the post. He is already in-charge of PMC primary education and consultant for workers,” Velankar added.

When contacted, Daundkar said, “There are vacant posts in our schools but we have managed to run the schools smoothly by appointing the teachers on contract basis. Many of our Vidyaniketan schools have had 100% SSC results.” He said the teachers hired on contract basis were being appointed for a term of six months. “These posts are vacant from 2010-11 and this was noticed during the student audit done by the state,” he added.

“We had 45 vacant seats for the teachers. We have filled 31 of them with the teachers hired on contract basis. We have a total number of 261 secondary teachers to manage around 12,000 students in 25 secondary schools,” Daundkar said.

He added, “We have only three vacant posts of principals. We could not fill up the vacant posts of principals due to a government resolution which makes it mandatory to fill up the vacant posts of teachers first. Recently, we had called for applications. These teachers will be selected on basis of their academic performance and interviews.”