Zodin Sanga,
Aizawl, Nov 24 : Under pressure, the Mizoram government has agreed to revalidate marching orders for over 60 teachers, the first major step towards the much demanded rationalisation of teacher-student ratio.
Succumbing to pressure from the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, the state’s apex students’ body, the government on Thursday said that it would issue fresh orders on November 27, after it had put on hold due to pressure from teachers’ associations.
Following the government’s nod, the students’ called off a protest rally earlier slated for Thursday.
“As demanded by the teachers’ associations, the government requested us to wait till January next year. But we made it very clear that we can’t wait for that long as there are a number of schools in the rural areas which are doing with just one teacher while some others don’t have science and mathematics teachers,” an MZP leader said.
The MZP insisted that the government should not let the students face year-end examinations without two important subjects – science and mathematics. The transfer order issued last week was suspended on November 19 in honour of Mizoram Primary Schools Teachers’ Association and Mizoram Middle School Teachers’ Association’s request.
Government sources said recruitment of about 300 teachers was underway to fill up the posts left vacant by teachers who have gone on voluntary retirement recently. The teachers’ associations requested that transfer of teachers is carried out after these vacant posts are filled up.
Strongly reacting to the MZP’s protest, the two teachers’ associations said in a statement on Thursday that transfer of teachers in the middle of an academic session would badly affect education.
“As there are no teachers’ quarters anywhere in Mizor am, transfer of teachers, especially to rural areas, is not an easy task,” the statement said.
The teachers said that all the 198 teachers recruited recently to fill up posts left vacant by teachers on VRS were posted in rural schools where there were inadequate teachers.
“As 300 other teachers are going on VRS, there are plans to appoint teachers to fill these posts within December this year. These new teachers will be posted in rural areas where there is shortage of teachers,” the statement said.
Severely criticising “interference” from outside, the teachers also expressed deep anguish over teachers being “kicked around like a football” by even students’ organisations. They felt that such activities brought dishonour on the teachers, who are called builders of the nation.
According to an ‘annual publication 2011-2012’ prepared by statistical cell under the school education department, there are 31,8,231 students and 23,705 teachers in primary to higher secondary schools in Mizoram, which means there is one teacher for every 13 students, against the Right To Education Act (RTE)’s norms of one teacher for every 30 students. However, many schools in the far-flung areas have been facing shortage of teachers.
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