news details |
|
|
| Will RMSA implementation be streamlined? | | Challenges before Naeem Akhtar | |
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Mar 7: The sole objective of Rashtriya Madhiyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), a centrally sponsored scheme which was launched almost six years back by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry (MHRD), is to enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality as well.
It envisages to achieve an enrolment rate of 75 per cent from 52.26 per cent in 2005-06 at secondary stage within five years of implementation of the scheme by providing a secondary school (High School) within a reasonable distance of 5 kms of any habitation. The other objectives includes improving quality of education imparted at secondary level, removing gender, socio economic and disability barriers, providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i.e by the end of 12th Five Year Plan. Under RMSA Middle schools are upgraded to High schools and High schools are further upgraded to Higher Secondary Schools. The upgradation of High schools to Higher secondary schools has not fully begun in J&K and as per the data available with this newspaper, more than 500 middle schools have been upgraded to High Schools across J&K state till December 2014.
Poor Implementation of RMSA:
Under RMSA an amount of Rs 50 Lakh was provided for the upgradation of Middle schools to high schools but for the last a couple of years the amount has been reduced to less than 40 lakhs which is affecting the construction of these schools as contractors seem to be reluctant to undertake the construction work.
Work for upgrading a middle school into High school at Gojithaji village in Khansahib zone of Budgam was undertaken in early 2013. The contractor undertook land leveling for which Rural Engineering Wing (REW) was supposed to pay him Rs 7.60 laks but till date the amount has not been paid as some officials of ACD office had demanded commission, alleged contractor Mohammad Shafi.
The work for the construction of new school building is yet to start and is held up for the last 2 years. "I had no money to pay as commission and the rates were slashed from Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 40 lakhs by the government. Under these circumstances, how can I undertake the work for construction of school building, he added.
Scarcity of staff
Under the RMSA guidelines, adequate staff is to be provided for High Schools which are upgraded from Middle schools. As per the guidelines the upgraded high school must have five master grade teachers, one headmaster and one junior assistant. But in many upgraded high schools under RMSA, there are very less teachers in most of the schools. Till a few months back, Govt High School Gogaldara in Tangmarg zone of Baramulla district had an ReT teacher promoted to a general line teacher who acted as in charge headmaster of the school . This is not an issue with Gogaldara high School only but there are nearly 300 such schools in J&K which face similar problems thus violating the basic principles of RMSA as well as Right to Education Act (RTE) wherein the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) has to be 30:1. One can understand the technical problems related to construction of the new school buildings under RMSA but does the school education department has any logical answer to justify the low PTR or the staff deficiency issue? It is a known fact that teachers are not ready to perform their duties in the far flung villages. And whenever any teacher is send to such places, he or she gets the attachment orders from the top officials of the concerned department within no time, thus leaving these underprivileged children unattended. Under RMSA provisions, HRD Ministry even provides adequate money to construct residential hostels for teachers posted in remote areas. But why hasn't J&K Government constructed such hostels?
"We are hopeful that under the dynamic leadership of new Education Minister Naeem Akhtar, education sector will be streamlined in J&K and we will take up the issue related to poor implementation of RMSA with him," said Shahnawaz Mir, state in-charge of Peoples Democratic Students Union (PDSU). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
