Bhopal: Locked schools, missing teachers make mockery of govt claims

SEONI MALWA: The teachers in government schools are aggressive when it comes to demanding higher salary, more facilities and timescale promotions. But when it comes to discharging their duties, they are far from serious.  A reality check of three government schools in the tribal villages of the Seoni Malwa block provided ample proof that state government’s ‘Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan” is a sham and its slogan of “Sab padhein, sab badhein” is hollow.

The school education department has appointed officials who are supposed to inspect the schools to ensure that they are doing what they are supposed to do – educate students. But the supervisory and inspection staff seem to be oblivious of their teaching duties.  The teachers are supposed to reach the school at 10 am and leave at 5 pm. A group of villagers visited three schools located in the tribal villages of the block. And this was what they discovered.

Sirupura Primary School; 11 am

Located about 12 km from the block headquarters, amid the lush green valleys of the Satpura mountain ranges, tribal village Sirupura boasts of a primary school. At 11 am, the school was locked and the students were playing outside. Two teachers – Sonu Jain and Ghanshyam – are posted in the school. The local villagers said that this is nothing new. The teachers rarely turn up and when they do, they are always late by a couple of hours. The school remains locked if the Gurujis don’t turn up and the children have little to do except kill time by playing and chatting.

Morghat Middle School; 11.15 am

Morghat is about 2 km away from Sirupura. It too has a substantial tribal population. At about 11.15 am, the villagers and some students reached the school and opened the lock of the main gate. No teacher was in sight. Rajesh Raghuvanshi and Rajeev Gupta are posted in the school. Sanjana Evne, a student, said, “We have opened the school and are now waiting for sir.” She had no idea when the sir would arrive. She said that there is no fixed time for sir’s arrival.

Lahi Primary School; 11.30 am

It takes few to reach Lahi from Morghat. The distance between the two villages is 3 km. At 11.30 am, a padlock was hanging at the main gate of the school. Students were waiting outside. Even as the villagers were preparing to draw up a panchnama, one of the assistant teachers posted in the school reached the place and opened the lock. Rajendra Thakur and Suresh Uike are teachers posted in the school but they did not arrive till 11.30 am.

Villagers prepare Panchnama

The angry residents of Lahi decided to prepare a panchnama to expose the laidback attitude of the teachers. The panchnama said that at 11.30 am, an assistant teacher reached the school and opened the lock. Among those who put their thumb impressions and signatures on the panchnama were Chander, Ashok, Neelesh Kakodia and Golu Irpache. “It is same every day. Massaab never comes on time. School opens only when he comes. Otherwise, it is a holiday for the children,” said Ashok.