'Defiant' headmasters forced to resign

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Feb. 20: At least eight headmasters appointed in the Secondary and Higher Secondary schools in Malda district, recommended by the School Service Commission (SSC) in its last recruitment, have resi-gned from their posts due to unhealthy working atmosphere and having failed to bear undue pressure from managing committees of the schools, district education officials said today .

“The newly appointed headmasters selected by the SSC prefer to go back and continue their service as assistant teachers peacefully and they have already joined their old educational institutions recently,” officials said.

“This trend is very bad and alarming for the education system in this district. The recent trend to drive out competent headmasters, recommended by the SSC, is against the present policy of the state government. Recently we noticed that at least five newly appointed headmasters and headmistresses had been forced to submit their resignation due to internal problem of the school where the managing committee, a section of school teachers and local people played active role to drive out headmasters keeping their vested interest," Mr Chinmay Sarkar, the district inspector (DI) of school in Malda said.

According to the Malda DI, the state government has planned to appoint competent headmasters in all Secondary and Higher Secondary schools through SSC for ‘internal supervision’ of the institution where they will act as ‘micro unit monitor’ for the development of education.

"But the posts will be lying vacant for more than one year and will have to wait for the next advertisement of SSC for headmasters and completion of its examination".

According to officials of the education department in Malda, newly appointed headmasters were humiliated, hackled and even one of them was threatened with dire consequences after joining.

“One headmaster, M Sc in Physics with a Ph D, had joined the Chamagram High School in Kaliachak III but left the job when he was humiliated by the teachers , managing committee members. Even the local people confined him and threatened him with dire consequences,” the Malda DI said.

“Why a competent and educated teacher will bear humiliation in educational institutions?," he asked.

Similarly, Mr Ashok Mandal had joined Pramilabala High School in Ratua as a headmaster but finally submitted his resignation due to internal squabbling between the managing committee members and teachers.

“I could not adjust to the unfavorable atmosphere there. Nothing was systematic due to internal problems of the school and it was difficult to start afresh," Mr Ashok Mandal said.

Mrs Anjana Bhadra also shared a similar fate. She had joined Mohanpara Nivedita Girls' school but had to quit her job from there and rejoin Shaymsukhi Girls' High School in Gazole due to pressure from the managing committee and being hackled by them.

Mr Shantanu Chatterjee, who joined Muchia Anchal High School in Old Malda, recently decided to go back to his previous institution.

According to education officials, local managing committees prefer to appoint teachers-in-charge (TIC) from assistant teachers for their vested interests. #