Protest lock on education offices - Hill teachers start 3-day shutdown

Darjeeling, May 10,TT: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated primary teachers’ union today started the three-day shutdown of education-related government offices in the hills to demand among others the appointment of 4,000 primary teachers at the earliest.

Thirteen primary schools across the Darjeeling hills do not have any permanent teachers at all and are being run by those appointed on an ad hoc basis, while 70 other institutions are expected to face a similar situation by December 2012, the Gorkha Primary Teachers’ Organisation has claimed.

Bhushan Thapa, the general secretary of the GPTO, said: “By December 2012, 140 permanent teachers are scheduled to retire. If no fresh appointments are made, almost 70 of the 774 primary schools will have no permanent teachers. As of today, 13 schools are being run entirely by ad hoc teachers .” 

According to Thapa, a school without a permanent teacher will not be able to use funds allotted to it by the government, as ad hoc staff are not given financial responsibilities.

The GPTO has claimed that currently 70 schools have only one permanent teacher each. “For example in the Rimbick-Lodhama circle there are 35 schools, out of which about 25 have only one permanent teacher. Primary school teachers have not been appointed in the hills since 1997,” said Thapa.

Sources in the DGHC said recently “an arrangement had been made by which a permanent teacher of the nearest primary school was being asked to look after the school which had no permanent teachers”.

DGHC administrator Anil Verma said the appointment of teachers was a process that involved various government departments and not just the council. “Even though the DGHC is in the picture (because it is in charge of primary education), the district school board looks after the teachers’ transfer and appointment,” said Verma.

The district school board is headed by L.B. Pariyar, who is a member of the Morcha’s study forum. Pariyar admitted that the DSB had the powers to appoint teachers. “We, however, cannot randomly issue appointment letters as the salaries have to come from the state government through the DGHC,” said Pariyar, the chairperson of the DSB.

The GPTO is also demanding that a District Primary School Council, present in other districts, replace the DSB. “The DPSC has more powers and will not need to take a no-objection certificate from the council for appointment of teachers. They can directly liaison with the state government,” said Thapa.

The GPTO wish-list also includes the recognition of primary schools set up by local bodies like village committees and establishment of a district project office for the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and a pension cell in Darjeeling. It also wants the medical board for the teachers to be shifted to Darjeeling Sadar hospital from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri.

The teachers have also demanded that a finance officer be appointed for the District School Board and a subinspector of schools be posted in all 13 circles in the hills. The agitation also includes the shutdown of primary schools for three days from May 18, a 24-hour general strike across the hills on May 31 followed by an indefinite hunger strike by the teachers from June 1.