E-Paper
Ludhiana: National Achievement Survey duties keep teachers busy, regular classes take a hit
Teachers appointed as block or district mentors are required to be on field for inspections of National Achievement Survey preparations, and in the absence of substitute teachers to fill for them, it is the students who suffer. Ludhiana education department says substitute teachers will be provided
While block mentors and district mentors of English, SST, Science and Maths are busy visiting schools across the district to oversee National Achievement Survey preparations, the teaching in their own schools is suffering in the absence of substitute teachers to fill in for them.
Ludhiana has 57 block mentors and three district mentors for English, Science and Maths. While the district mentors remain away from their schools for long periods to prepare learning material for students and train teachers for National Achievement Survey , the block mentors remain on their toes with inspections in other schools.
As per the orders of the former school education secretary, the department is supposed to provide substitute teachers when the mentors are sent out on field. But as the department has failed to do so, the burden falls upon other teachers in the school to accommodate more students or adjust classes. This, even as schools are already struggling with staff shortage.
A teacher at a government high school, on the condition of anonymity, said, “Block mentors remain absent from schools for long stretches, which affects studies in their own school. Our school has a high enrolment rate, and in the absence of substitute teachers, it becomes difficult for us to fill in for teachers who have to head out for National Achievement Survey duties.”
Voicing the same concern, a lecturer at a government senior secondary school said that around six teachers from her school have been included in the panel of block mentors, which makes it difficult for the remaining staff in the school to teach the huge strength of pupils.
Sukhdarshan Singh of Government High School, Kot Mangal, said teachers should not be given administrative jobs. “There is already a shortage of teachers in government schools and on top of that, teachers appointed as block mentors or district mentors do not come to their own for several days. Ultimately, it is the students who suffer. Teachers are recruited to teach, and not for administrative jobs.”
A senior education officer, on the condition of anonymity, said due to pendency of court cases regarding teachers’ recruitment, the department is unable to fill the vacancies and thus it is difficult to provide substitutes in each school.
District education officer (DEO) Lakhvir Singh Samra said the department has provided maximum possible substitutes to schools. He added that substitutes of the block mentors and district mentors will be sent to remaining schools.
