HT Correspondent
GOSSAIGAON, Sept 9: While the government boasts about creating human resources through quality education, the reality of schools without BTC-appointed teachers tells a different story in the field of education. In recent times, the grim situation of government primary schools under the Gossaigaon and Kachugaon block elementary education officers, which are run with just a single teacher, is reflected in middle schools, high schools, and higher secondary schools as well.
According to collected data, there is a severe shortage of teachers in various government schools across the Gossaigaon subdivision in the Kokrajhar district. This shortage, seen from primary to higher secondary levels, is glaringly evident in Balagaon High School, where the lack of 11 teachers paints a grim picture of the quality education scenario.
Reports suggest that Balagaon High School, located near the India-Bhutan border, lacks eleven teachers. With only a handful of teachers, the school struggles to impart lessons, depriving hundreds of students of their basic right to education. While the school requires 41 teachers for both Bodo and Assamese mediums, there are no teachers to teach subjects like Science, Mathematics, Hindi, or Sanskrit. At the primary level, only two teachers handle classes across six grades. Despite the glaring shortage, the government has failed to fill the vacant teaching positions for years, yet continues to beat the drum of quality education.
Similarly, the ME section has only one assistant teacher, with no teachers available for subjects like Science and Hindi. The high school section is in no better shape, lacking teachers for subjects like Science, Mathematics, Hindi, and Sanskrit. Established in 1992 and provincialised in 2013, the school has seen several teaching positions remain vacant due to retirements and transfers, but no efforts have been made to fill these positions. Even though teachers are frequently sent for training to enhance the quality of education, the actual teaching process suffers as a result.
Reports indicate that during the current academic year, the Education Department has frequently closed the school to hold training sessions for teachers, ignoring the core issue of teacher shortages. While the shortage of teachers affects most schools in the subdivision, the department appears more focused on training, leaving conscious citizens questioning whether this is part of a deliberate strategy to undermine government schools in the region.
