Make Government School Teachers Accountable

Vijay Sharma

(The writer is based in Hamirpur)

The strength of government schools has increased to a considerable number in last 10 years. So does the basic infrastructure has strengthened and process of inducting new teachers is also on a continuous mode. But despite all this, the strength of students in government schools is on a constant decline. On the contrary private schools despite heavy fee structure are expanding at an exponential rate. Parents are giving preference to private schools despite government offering free education and mid-day meal facility at government schools.

This should be a matter of concern for the state government as to why government teachers despite drawing heavy salaries are failing to deliver better results. According to a policy adopted by government in 2010, there is a provision of imposing fine and punishing a teacher found guilty of delivering less than 25% result. But CAG has disclosed that no such punitive action was taken against teachers. According to CAG figures, there are a total of 15,327 schools including 879 senior secondary and 1608 high schools in Himachal. About 1.83 lakh students each in 10 and 12 standards are studying in these schools. About 20% of Class 10 students and 14% of Class 12 students have failed in 50% of these schools.

The rise of private schools and parents attraction towards them lies in the fall of quality of education in government schools. The state government in its report has also confessed that students of fifth and eighth standard of government schools failed to solve multiplication, division, addition and subtraction problems. It was also said in the report that eighth standard students of government schools failed to read properly 2nd class books. And this situation prevails in government schools when teachers are recruited in government schools as per set standards. Whereas in private schools, emphasis is on making profits. Thousands of those teachers who do not meet set criteria are teaching in private schools. But here they have to face pressure to deliver results that lacks in government schools.

The state government has admitted that standard of education has not risen in Himachal despite opening a number of new institutes. The government instead of giving focus on improving quality of education is busy in regularising teachers working on contract. Being an election year, they are bound to get many more gifts, but the future of students is on stake. Students studying in government schools will become victim of inferiority complex if the situation does not improve. In fact a notion has started developing among public that government schools are meant for deprived sections only. The government will have to change this notion and to ensure responsibility of government teachers to improve condition in government schools. Only then they will be considered as temples of knowledge.

विवाह प्रस्ताव की तलाश कर रहे हैं ? भारत मैट्रीमोनी में निःशुल्क रजिस्टर करें !

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