Jahangirpuri Govt School: ‘Fourth of staff on leave, mass absenteeism in school’

According to the inspection report, of the total teaching staff of 45, as many as 12 members, including Principal were on leave in Government Boys Senior Secondary School, K-Block, Jahangir Puri on April 23.

Teachers on leave, mass absenteeism among students, unclean washrooms, poor infrastructure, and threats to safety of students — these were some of the observations made by a team from the Directorate of Education (DOE) in a government school in Jahangirpuri last month.

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According to the inspection report, of the total teaching staff of 45, as many as 12 members, including Principal were on leave in Government Boys Senior Secondary School, K-Block, Jahangir Puri on April 23.

“Granting leave to more than one-fourth of the regular staff strength—on a day when Principal himself is going to be on leave—indicates towards serious mismanagement of human resources,” the report noted.

The inspection conducted by the Director of Education and five other education department officials .

“Worst part of the school infrastructure was its toilets,” the report noted adding that water tanks, commodes, doors had been damaged and the washrooms were dirty. “Immediately after the entry of the inspection team, members of the sanitation staff could be seen rushing towards the toilets and throw buckets full of water into the toilets,” the report said.

When Principal Harmesh Kumar, who was on leave on the day of inspection, was contacted by the officials he “informed that one of his relatives has expired” adding that “he was at Janakpuri with the family of the deceased, so, he won’t be able to oblige.”

The report then added that the principal had applied for two casual leaves for 22 and 23 April on April 19 itself.

Refusing to elaborate on the matter over phone, Kumar said routine inspections are for improvement and “whatever lapses are there will be improved.”

DOE officials also noted that only 56% of the total 2,666 students were present on the day of inspection. Additionally, out of the 1,168 students who were not present, only 50 were on leave and the rest were absent without any prior information. In the last detailed inspection conducted in the same school in October last year, the attendance of students stood at 59% indicating that “mass absenteeism is a matter of routine in school and teachers are not doing anything about it.”

The other issues listed by the team included dirty open spaces, expired fire extinguishers in staff room, electric wires hanging loose, open holes on ground, unkempt science laboratory, poor performance of science students and their dissatisfaction with Science teachers.

A DOE official concerned with the matter said the department will be issuing showcause notices to all stakeholders. “We are taking necessary action. Showcause notices will be issued to concerned officials including principal, sanitation vendor and others,” the official said.