Primary school teachers boycott counselling

Opposing the calibration process of excess teachers in government primary schools, primary teachers in the district boycotted the counselling conducted at taluk centres on Tuesday.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Karnataka State Primary School Teachers’ Association district unit general secretary Ramakrishna Mallara said the new staff pattern suggested by the government is unscientific as the strength is not same at all government schools. According to the new staff pattern, the student teacher ratio of 10:1 is recommended for lower primary and the order has also said that  one teacher will be provided, if there are more than 10 students in class 6 and 7 put together. According to this pattern, two teachers would be sufficient for a primary school, which is nothing but a burden on the teachers, he claimed.

Six teachers
The association has demanded the implementation of RTE where six teachers would be available, excluding the headteacher and the physical education teacher.

Ramakrishna said the move of the government has come on the wake of burden on the finance department. He said there are 27 excess teachers  in Mangaluru North and they can be transferred anywhere in Sullia, Belthangadi and Puttur, as there is a shortage of teachers in these places. Teachers around the age of 55 years are considered for transfer, based on the years of service. These teachers would feel it difficult to go to remote places, Mallara said.

Permanent recruit
Mangaluru South too has 27 excess teachers. Ramakrishna demanded permanent recruitment of teachers or appointment of guest teachers to fill the vacancies. A memorandum has been submitted to the deputy commissioner, zilla panchayat CEO and DDPI in this regard.