Students of Lamding Higher Secondary School at Lamding in Thoubal district held a protest at the school campus on Thursday, demanding to fill up the vacant teacher posts at the school at the earliest.
Speaking to the media during the protest, general secretary of the school’s students’ union G Adison Sharma said that the state government upgraded Lamding Higher Secondary School, formerly a high school to higher secondary level in 2017. The school was also selected under the state government’s School Phagathansi Mission second phase, he asserted.
There should be four biology teachers (two for Zoology and two for Botany) in the school; however, not a single teacher reported for the post for almost six years since the school was upgraded to a higher secondary level, he asserted.
He pointed out that there are a total of 131 students in Class 11 Science and 127 students in Class 12 Science at the school, who are left without the guidance of a biology teacher all this time. He also mentioned that there are teacher shortages for other subjects as well.
He said that amid a shortage of teachers in the school, 1 Manipuri teacher was transferred, leaving only one teacher to teach the entire subject and asserted that the same added to the woes of the students.
Adison maintained that repeated pleas have been made to the Education minister and Education department authorities regarding the matter, but to no avail till date. He referred to the government’s notice for reopening of schools and urged the authorities concerned to fill up the vacant teacher posts at the school at the earliest.
The general secretary also highlighted the problems and difficulties faced by the students of the school owing to the lack of proper teachers and appealed to take stock of the situation without further delay. He further cautioned that the students of the school will launch various intense agitations if their demands are not fulfilled within a week by September 21.
The government and the authorities concerned must bear responsibility should any unwanted incidents occur, Adison said. Students also displayed various placards and chanted many slogans during the protest.
