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| A grade 12 section of around 55 students at the school try to read and make notes from textbooks on their own. |
Bhim, Rajasthan: After spending two hours commuting from a far-off village, Jelwa, Hemlata Chauhan, 17, spends her six school hours sitting idle or chatting with friends. Apart from an hour of yoga session, there are no lectures, laboratory practicals, library reading sessions, computer classes or sports coaching in the government girls’ higher secondary school in Bhim where Chauhan and more than 642 other girls study.
The school which offers subjects such as home science, history, geography and political science in grades 11 and 12 does not have a single grade one teacher or lecturer to teach any of these subjects.
14 of the 17 sanctioned teaching posts in the school are running vacant, including that of the principal.
The school, currently, has teachers just for grades 9 and 10 and only for subjects – English, Sanskrit and Science.
What is more shocking is that the Rajasthan government continues with its brazen neglect even after 700 students of the school held street protests and shutdown of the school last October urging authorities to increase the number of teachers.
But nine months later, as the new academic year begins, the school which has 642 students (admissions are ongoing) has just three teachers.
On Tuesday, 105 grade 12 students from the school signed a letter that read: “Do not compel us to undertake another shutdown of the school because we still do not have lecturers”.
Similarly deplorable is the case of the government girls’ higher secondary school in Barar. For 319 students, the school has just two teachers – English and Sanskrit. There is no lecturer to teach the specialised subjects of standards eleven and twelve.
Grade 10 students of the Barar girls’ school have also signed a similar letter contemplating shutdown and protests.
The letters will be sent to the district collector and director, secondary education, Bikaner.
Karishma Lakhiya, grade 12 student at the Bhim girls’ school: “Sometimes we are allowed to attend classes in the nearby boys’ school. But most times, considering the conservative society we live in, we are taunted for studying with boys”.
In what shows a misogynistic attitude of the state vis-a-vis girls’ education, the Rajasthan government has picked both the boys’ schools in Bhim and Barar to be developed into ‘adarsh schools’ under its recently-launched Adarsh Vidyalay Yojana.
“The boys’ school functions with full staff. Why should we suffer?” added Lakhiya.
The last time Bhim girls’ school students took out a protest on October 2 last year, the acting principal of the school was suspended for failing to quell protests and observe Swachhta Mission. Four more teachers were appointed as a result of the protest, but they were transferred within a month.
“We try reading on our own. But, how are we supposed to understand subjects such as home science and geography without anybody teaching us? There are no good private tuitions too here,” said Lakhiya.
Another indication of the abominable condition of both Bhim and Barar girls’ schools is that water connections in none the toilets are functional. There are also no playgrounds and play equipment in the school premises.
Meena Mehta, acting principal of the Bhim girls’ school, said: “We have written several letters to the block and district education officers and to the director of secondary education, regarding vacancy of teaching posts but there has been no favourable response”.
Another student from the Bhim girls’ school rued: “Most students from the previous batch did not pass standard 12 because of a lack of teachers. We want to study further but don’t know if we will clear standard 12 as we have not even received textbooks for all our subjects. We have already been told by our parents that we would be married off after 12th standard”.
*Status of Government Girls’ Higher secondary school, Bhim:
- Strength (Admissions are ongoing): 642
Standard 9: 207
Standard 10: 129
Standard 11: 117
Standard 12: 189
- Teaching posts (Grades 11 and 12):
Vacant posts
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Principal
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English
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Hindi
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History
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Political science
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Home science
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Geography
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Biology
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Physics
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Chemistry
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- Teaching posts (Grades 9 and 10):
Vacant posts
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Filled posts
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Hindi
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English
|
Social sciences
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Science
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Sanskrit
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Maths (On maternity leave till December)
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*Status of overnment Girls' Higher Secondary School, Barar
- Strength (Admissions are ongoing): 284
Standard 9: 66
Standard 10: 101
Standard 11: 46
Standard 12: 71
- Teaching posts (Grades 11 and 12):
Vacant posts
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Hindi Literature
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Hindi
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History
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Geography
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- Teaching posts (Grades 9 and 10):
Vacant posts
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Filled posts
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Hindi
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Sanskrit
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Maths
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Social sciences
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Science
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| English |
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