Teaching in schools goes to dogs as HMs perform MEO duties

Karimnagar: With an aim to strengthening education system, the government paid special attention on improving infrastructure and other basic facilities in state-run schools, there is a lack monitoring in these schools at mandal level.

Since government fell short of appointing regular officials in the Education department at mandal level, the job is done by school headmasters. As a result, instead of taking care of their respective schools, the headmasters are doing just official works of the MEOs since these posts are lying vacant for years.

Each headmaster is made in-charge MEOs of two to six mandals in the combined district. It has been going on for more than a decade. Because of this, they are unable to do justice to their main job of heading their respective schools.

The headmasters who are in-charge MEOs are supposed to monitor their school as well as the schools in their assigned mandals. More than 20 schools in each mandal have to be monitored at least in a month.

Their time is spent in attending official meetings, reviews, lunch reports, school facilities, teaching, teacher training classes, teacher attendance, progress reports etc.

The work load increased and the schools lacked supervision. As a result, educational standards in government schools, especially in primary schools, are falling. Admissions of students are decreasing every year.

Education authorities have appointed nodal officers to solve the problems in the government schools and reduce the additional burden on the in-charge MEOs. These responsibilities have been assigned to the senior HMs in the respective mandals. They are eligible to perform only some of the functions of MEO.

In this situation, by improving facilities in government schools, the education standards in the schools and the number of students will increase, is very difficult to say. The teachers’ association leaders say that this situation is not likely to change unless the government thinks about it. Along with providing basic facilities and good infrastructure in schools, the government should appoint adequate number of teachers and officials in Education department and at district and mandal levels to enhance quality of education in State, they opine.