Vacant posts affect education in Begusarai

begusarai: despite a monthly expenditure of around rs 4 crore on payment of salaries to teachers, primary education is in a bad shape in begusarai district following a large number of posts of various grades lying vacant for a long time. the vacant posts of teachers in various schools have not only affected teaching work but also given rise to mushroom growth of private schools even in the rural areas of the district.according to sources, 640 posts of teachers out of 4,840 sanctioned posts in 800 schools, eight out of the sanctioned 14 block education officers, all the four posts of subdivisional education officers and both the sanctioned posts of deputy district superintendents of education (ddse) are lying vacant for a long time. out of the 276 posts of middle school headmasters, only 52 are working. they have also been invested with the power of drawing and disbursing, resulting in their involvement in official works at least 20 days in a month. a headmaster told this correspondent that he gets no security while drawing more than rs 4 lakh from the bank and disbursing the amount among more than 50 teachers belonging to about 10 schools of the area. "i have given in writing to the district superintendent of education (dse) to make alternative arrangement," the headmaster added. there have also been cases when headmasters have been robbed of money after withdrawal for making payment to teachers and other staff. the shortage of officials creates problems not only in disposal of officials works but also hampers inspection work, resulting in absence of teachers from the schools. dozens of schools in the rural areas of the district are running without any proper inspection by the officials. an education department officer asked how could an officer make surprise inspection of schools in distant rural areas when the government has not provided even one vehicle for the officials of the department in the district. umesh prasad singh, an office-bearer of the district primary teachers'' association, blamed the government for the disorder prevailing in the primary education. he says, "when around 650 posts of teachers are lying vacant and 144 teachers appointed under plan head have not been paid for the last eight months, the teaching is bound to be affected." he said a dharna would be held in patna on february 27 to press for a solution.