PANJIM, MARCH 23
It sounds shocking but true. The State administration has threatened the State primary teachers with three years imprisonment if they fail to join the State census survey.
Giving an indication of the State’s seriousness to the education sector, the administration has issued circulars through mamlatdars and deputy collectors on the appointment of primary teachers to conduct census survey.
This is at a time when the examinations are on. While training camps began yesterday in some talukas, in others they will start on March 25.
The order has been issued to the government primary teachers many from the single teacher schools through the ADEIs.
The order surprisingly says that “the failure to abide by it will attract the Indian Penal Code and they would face punishment up to three years.”
This has shocked the primary teachers, who are in a fix whether to supervise the exams or attend census training camp.
“We cannot miss the census as we may have to undergo imprisonment,” said some teachers speaking to Herald on condition of anonymity.
Moreover, Hearld has learnt that the order was not issued to the Director of Education or the Zonal office but directly to the ADEIs, who were told to serve the orders on the teachers within 24 hours.
“This is one of the major reasons why the primary education is suffering in the state as many a times the primary teachers are not in schools due to work other than teaching like elections, census, counting, etc,” they said.
Inquiries revealed that the Director of Education Celsa Pinto has written to the district collectors, deputy collectors and mamlatdars to cancel the order.
“I have written to the administration to cancel the orders to the teachers especially those from the single teacher school as this would mean the closure of government primary school and disruption of mid-day meal scheme,” she told Herald.
However, she said, “I have not heard anything yet from them.”
Asked what arrangements she has made to overcome the problem, she said, “To avoid disruption we have posted para-teachers and cluster resource persons working under the Goa Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the schools.”
“A file has also been moved to the government informing all this and an appeal has been made to cancel the orders particularly as only government primary teachers have been appointed when even others could have been appointed like the primary teachers from government aided schools, the para-teachers from SSA and talathis,” Pinto said.
“As the exams are approaching and the end of academic year is at hand, the teachers are required in the schools. They should be exempted from census and other related work,” she said.
There are about 4000 government primary teachers in the State out of which 370 are from single teacher school.
“I do not know exactly how many teachers have been appointed for census work as the orders have not been issued through me,” she said.
It is pertinent to note here that on one hand the Chief Minister Digamabar Kamat has been on record that his government is laying special emphasis on the Education sector and on the other the primary students are being deprived of teachers during crucial period of exams.
