The Diplomat Desk
Udhampur:TDD, A delegation of Headmasters from district Udhampur today met with Sunil Verma, District President of the National Conference Unit Udhampur, to submit a memorandum highlighting several issues affecting the education sector.
The delegation expressed their dissatisfaction over the delayed release of promotion lists for Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs), which has been pending for the past 10 months, resulting in 40% of the headmasters reaching their superannuation without promotions due to the department’s alleged neglect. Furthermore, they pointed out that the promotion of masters to headmasters has also been delayed for the past two years, with no positive steps taken by the higher authorities. Issues concerning the promotion of teachers to masters were also raised, with concerns about unadjusted promoted masters due to administrative lapses.
The delegation emphasized the critical issue of vacancies for teachers, headmasters, ZEOs, and principals in various educational institutions, which they claimed have led to the deterioration of the quality of education. They also lamented that important posts such as Chief Education Officers and Zonal Education Officers, once considered crucial, are now rendered powerless and function as mere dummy posts. A disparity between the pupil-teacher ratio across schools was highlighted, with some institutions facing a severe shortage of teachers despite large enrollments, while others have surplus staff. Additionally, the delegation expressed concern over a large number of schools with zero enrollments that have not been closed for over four to five years, urging that these institutions should either be closed or staff redeployed.
Sunil Verma, after a patient hearing, assured the delegation that he would personally take up these issues with the Hon’ble Minister of School Education, Ms. Sakeena Itoo, to ensure early redressal and the smooth functioning of the department.TDD
