BHOPAL: About 40% of the higher secondary and high schools across the state are working without principals. Senior lecturers are given charge of the post which is also having an adverse impact on the learning of students.
About 2,500 out of a total of 6,000 higher secondary and high schools in state are being run by in-charge principals. Several schools that were upgraded last year are without permanent principals till date.
According to officials of the school education department, the posts of principals are filled through promotion of senior teachers. The central government had proposed that 50% of the posts of principal should be filled through direct recruitment and the remaining through eligibility tests of teachers interested in the post.
However, the suggestion given by Union government is hanging fire and the state government has not taken any decision in the matter yet. Adding to the students’ woes, there is no progress or activity on the teachers’ promotion front.
Sources say that about 1,000 principals are working in offices other than their own. Several senior teachers do not join after transfer, or promotion, leading to vacant chairs in the principals’ office.
The Directorate of Public Instructions had promoted more than 1,120 teachers in view of the vacant posts of principals in higher secondary schools in the year 2015. Nevertheless, only 321 joined as principals from the list, thereby leaving 799 posts vacant.
Similarly, a list of 1,200 teachers was released for principals in the high schools, but only 452 joined. Since then, no promotions have been given in the department citing a case of reservation in the court.
At present, about 800 out of a total of 2,900 posts of principals of higher secondary schools and 1,500 out of a total of 3,000 posts of principals of high schools are vacant. This has led to posting of senior teachers as in-charge, resulting in an adverse impact on the students.
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