The Rising People’s Party (RPP) has called for doing away with the post of Principal Director in the Department of School Education (DoSE). In a representation to School Education adviser Dr Kekhrie Yhome, RPP vice-president Vitho Zao and general secretary Amai Chingkhu reasoned that having too many power centres in the department would erode the efficiency of any department at the cost of efficiency and professional dedication.
Further, they also called for setting up a Teachers’ Recruitment Board.
Acknowledging the adviser’s concern regarding the feasibility of Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) or Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) conducting teachers’ recruitment, they suggested that the recruitment board be set up in such a manner that department officials were not involved in the recruitment process so as to prevent conflict of interest.
They attributed the malaise in the department to the eager beaver attitude of officials regarding “development” activities rather than concentrating on students’ welfare, which was another contributing factor for the poor state of government schools.
Terming the past claims of shortage of funds for the poor performance of schools in the state as disingenuous and ludicrous, they pointed out that the number one problem with the DoSE was poor management.
Insisting that salaries of teachers, police personnel and health workers should not be delayed under any circumstances, the RPP leaders said the fact was striking when compared to the non-teaching staff and officials who did not face such issues.
They stated that the numerous strikes/protests over the past few years were testament to the fact that the health of the education was perhaps the least of concern for the state government.
Admitting that the yearly state budget should incorporate enough funds for the department’s requirements, the duo claimed that out of the overall Rs 1,781 crore earmarked for all departments under “Approved Sectoral Outlays for 2023-24”, DoSE received a miserly Rs 12 crore, which was only 0.67% of the total outlay. They pointed out that DUDA allocation at Rs 23 crore was even higher than DoSE.
Pointing out that how the Delhi government had allocated 21% of its total budget to education during 2023-24, they said such misplaced priorities buttressed the point that the state government was least concerned with quality education in the state.
RPP mentioned that there was no need for yoga teachers either in the schools. Stating that yoga as both a physical and a spiritual exercise was an established fact, they stated that their continued presence was against their ethos and culture.