E-Paper
KMC schools fast becoming unpopular
SCHOOLS MANAGED by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) have lost their relevance. Even the parents in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category do not prefer to send their children to these schools. Similarly, the colleges run by the KMC have become quite unpopular among students and their parents.
Institutions have unsafe buildings, lack funds and quality teachers
SCHOOLS MANAGED by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) have lost their relevance. Even the parents in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category do not prefer to send their children to these schools. Similarly, the colleges run by the KMC have become quite unpopular among students and their parents.
Fund crunch and lack of competent and adequate number of teachers at these educational institutions have made them quite unpopular in today’s competitive society.
The higher secondary schools of KMC are housed in the most insecure rented buildings. These buildings lack proper flooring and even roofs. Landlords do not bother to carry out repairs in the dilapidated structures as they want their buildings vacated. The poor rent they receive from the KMC and that too not regularly has prompted them to terminate the tenancy contract.
Students at these schools have to sit on the floor while students at other schools enjoy the facilities of table and chairs. Many posts of teachers are lying vacant at these schools. KMC has no funds to pay salary to the teachers. In order to avoid further financial burden it does not prefer to make appointments of teachers against the vacant posts.
The situation of the intermediate colleges is even worse. Besides poor facilities at the colleges there are no teachers in most colleges for teaching English, science and mathematics subjects. The KMC runs about eleven intermediate colleges but very few colleges have the facility of teaching science subjects.
Also, barring one principal others have been appointed on ad hoc basis.
Although the state government had allocated over Rs 1.70 cr annual grant for the payment of salary to the teachers, at most of the KMC colleges they were not paid their salary for the past three months. Besides, the teachers have not been given their Provident Fund (PF) account passbook.
The teachers alleged that no money was being deposited in their provident fund account since 1991 and hence they were denied advance payment from the PF account for marriage of their daughters and other occasions. Several teachers including SN Tipathi, RK Gupta and Glam Moiuddin had to go to court for withdrawing money from their PF accounts. Similarly, contribution towards the Employees State Insurance (ESI) was not being made regularly which prevented them to avail medical facilities, they alleged.
The ill-managed colleges are loosing students every year. DPS College that used to have one thousand girl students has only 451 students during the current year. At SR Inter College only 287 students are on the rolls from class six to tenth. Similarly, other colleges are witnessing a steep fall in the number of students each year. Most of these colleges may be closed down in near future if no attention is paid to improve their condition.
