MARGAO
Higher secondary students of the government-run Multipurpose School, Borda, took to the streets on Monday, demanding the reinstatement of lecture-based teachers who were transferred by the government barely months before the semester and Board examinations.
Carrying placards and raising slogans, the students demanded that their previous teachers be brought back, expressing concern over the impact of the transfers on their academic performance.
Following the protest, Fatorda police were deployed at the Multipurpose School complex as a precautionary measure. Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Chairman Camilo Barretto, along with other PTA members, also rushed to the complex after the students staged the protest.
The PTA Chairman and members went into a huddle with the Higher Secondary officials to find a way out. They are believed to have requested that they be given two days’ time to take up the matter with government officials.
“We want our teachers back. This is our only demand,” the students said while raising slogans in support of their demand.
One of the students questioned the decision to transfer teachers midway through the academic year, particularly when the Board examinations are only four months away.
“Why remove our old teachers and replace them with new teachers when the preliminary examinations are just two months away, followed by the Board examinations? They have transferred five teachers without taking into account the impact it will have on students when the Board examinations are just four months away,” the student said.
Another student said the new teachers, who are reportedly high school teachers, were finding it difficult to teach Higher Secondary subjects such as Chemistry, Physics and Biology. “We cannot understand what is being taught by the new teachers. The government has taken the decision to transfer the old teachers and replace them with new teachers. But is the government ready to take responsibility for our future by replacing the teachers?” the student questioned.
The students said they depended entirely on their school teachers for academic support and could not afford private coaching. “We depend solely on the teachers teaching in the school. We do not go for, and cannot afford, private coaching. We used to understand our lessons better when the old teachers were teaching. Now, we are at a loss,” they said.
PTA backs students’ concerns
MARGAO: PTA Chairman Camilo Barretto sympathised with the students’ grievances but said they should have approached the PTA before taking to the streets.
Barretto said students had complained that they were unable to adjust to the teaching methods of the new teachers and were worried about their academic future, particularly with the Board examinations just four months away.
“I sympathise with the grievances aired by the students over the transfer of teachers midway through the academic year. However, the students made a mistake by not taking up the matter with the PTA. What has happened is very bad,” Barretto said.
The PTA chairman also questioned the government’s decision to transfer lecture-based teachers who had been teaching at the school for several years.
He sought to know what would happen to the lecture-based teachers after they had served the school for years and questioned the rationale behind shifting them at a crucial stage of the academic year.
