The Navhind Times: Ponda-Goa: Tuesday, August 15, 2017.
Believe it or
not! Two government primary schools at Shiroda in Ponda taluka function without
any teacher, while one school in Bandora in the same taluka is looked after by
a part-time teacher for only three days a week as per information provided by
Assistant District Education Inspector (ADEI) Ponda under the Right to
Information (RTI) Act.
When this
reporter visited these schools, it was revealed that both the schools in
Shiroda function under part-time English teachers unofficially; these teachers
are actually appointed in other primary schools on a daily basis. In the
Bandora school, a Kannada section teacher teaches Marathi medium students for
three days a week.
As per
information provided by the ADEI Ponda, all together, 162 full-time teachers
and 41 part-time English teachers are appointed in various government primary
schools of Ponda taluka for the current academic year.
Out of 111
functioning government primary schools in Ponda, no teachers are appointed in
two primary schools – one located at Barbhat and the other at Tariwada in
Shiroda, while the government primary school at Chirpute in Bandora (Marathi
medium) functions with one part-time teacher deputed for three days a week. The
government primary school at Barbhat in Shiroda has five students, while the
government primary school at Tariwada in Shiroda has seven students. The
government primary school at Chirpute in Bandora has four students, as per
information provided under the RTI Act.
During a
reality check done by this daily, it was revealed that both the government
primary schools in Shiroda function under part-time English teachers
unofficially (without any appointment) and these trained English teachers teach
all the subjects to the students. Subjects taught by these teachers other than
English include Marathi, math and science.
As per the
information, the trained English teachers looking after the two government
primary schools of Shiroda are officially appointed in some other schools on a
daily basis (3 or 2 days a week in each primary) to teach English. But without
any appointment and training, the ADEI has given them the responsibility of all
primary schools in Shiroda. Interestingly, one of the teachers in these schools
has difficulty in understanding Marathi herself, she being a student of English
medium school. With this move of ADEI, five primary schools in Shiroda are
deprived of trained English teachers, as the teachers appointed are diverted to
the two primary schools at Shiroda which have no teachers.
In the case
of the government primary school at Chirpute in Bandora, No full-time teacher
is appointed in the Marathi section of the school, which has a Kannada section
too. So the four students in the school are taught by a part-time English
teacher for three days a week, while the other three days are managed by the
Kannada teacher from the other section of the school.
It is also
learnt from the sources that there are two more government primary schools in
Ganjem and Kundaim which are run by English teachers, as the full-time teachers
appointed in these schools are on maternity leave.
Information
under the RTI Act has also revealed that out of the 111 government primary
schools in Ponda, 32 schools have only one teacher teaching all the subjects,
while 33 other schools have only one full-time teacher and one part-time
teacher (only for 2 or 3 days a week).
When
contacted, ADEI Pushpa Borkar said that the ADEI Ponda has a shortage of
teachers and to avoid closure of schools, these adjustments are being made.
“Otherwise, more schools would have closed down,” she said. She also confirmed
that with regard to the adjustments, the teachers are not officially appointed
but that the adjustments are done with mutual understanding.
It should be
noted that at present around 3,158 students are studying in the 111 government
primary schools of Ponda. Out of these, 784 students are studying in Class 1,
756 in Class 2, 780 in Class 3 and 838 in Class 4.
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