Short of teachers, govt schools turn to volunteers

Faced with a shortage of teachers, government schools in the capital are turning to volunteers to help them complete the syllabus before the final exams.

With exams approaching early next year, the unfilled vacancies in schools across Delhi are posing a problem for school authorities and students alike.  Those in higher classes like 11 and 12, who have their board exams in March, are the worst affected.

Since they have not heard from the Delhi government about any fresh recruitment, schools are engaging volunteers who can devote some time to students on a daily basis. The volunteers can include teachers from coaching institutes in the neighbourhood, alumni, or anyone interested in teaching without seeking payment.

“We are left with no other option as so many classes go without any subject teacher coming to the classroom. The children just sit idle. Due to that they are also becoming non-serious regarding their course," said an official at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Patel Nagar.

The school has a vacancy of around 30 teachers, including Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs) of some important subjects like Math, Chemistry and Accountancy.
The school has now engaged a student who passed out from a private school last year to complete the Math syllabus for class 12.

Proper teacher

“The situation has come to this level that the school has been forced to take this step. Even though he is capable of teaching class 12, the students deserve a proper teacher,” said Suryakant Thakur, a member of the school's management committee.
Thakur on Thursday wrote a letter to Lieutenant Najeeb Jung to look into the matter and start the recruitment process.

Similarly other schools like Government Boys Senior Secondary School in A Block, Nand Nagri and Government Girls Senior Secondary School (GGSSS), Sunder Nagri have asked their school management committees (SMCs) to approach anyone who is interested in volunteering.

“I raised this point in the last SMC meeting and asked the SMCs to spread the word. I will be happy if someone comes to complete the syllabus,” said Suresh Chandra Shakya, prinicipal of GGSSS, Sunder Nagri.

The school has vacancies for around 40 teachers.  The Delhi High Court had this week termed “startling” the fact that half of the total teaching posts in government and municipal schools in the city were lying vacant.

According to the government, the 1,011 government schools currently have a total vacancy of around 15,000 teachers which severely affects the teacher-student ratio.

The Delhi government had planned to bring in a policy to overcome this shortage by letting principals hire teachers locally on a daily wage.  However, the plan has made no headway till now.