Usta Muhammad: 22 absent teachers to be suspended and inquiry ordered

USTA MUHAMMAD: The monthly meeting of the District Education Group (DEG) was held under the chairmanship of Usta Muhammad Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ramzan Palal. The meeting reviewed in detail the overall performance of government educational institutions across the district, teaching activities, teachers’ attendance, improvement in educational standards, and the administrative and basic problems faced by the institutions.

District Education Officer Shabbir Ahmed Langove, Usta Muhammad Assistant Commissioner Maria Shamoon, Siraj Ahmed, in-charges of the RTSM, principals of girls’ and boys’ colleges, representatives of teachers’ organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the district president of the Private School Association, Manzoor Ahmed Pandrani, and other officials attended the meeting.

Action against absent teachers

The meeting stressed that regular attendance of teachers, continuity of teaching in classrooms and educational discipline are essential to make teaching effective.

Reviewing the attendance reports compiled by the RTSM, the meeting decided that 22 teachers who had remained continuously absent would be suspended under the rules and an inquiry would be held against them to determine the reasons for their absence. The District Education Officer was directed to inform the next meeting of progress and findings.

Inspection committees

To improve educational standards and identify shortcomings in teaching in good time, it was decided to form internal inspection committees in all high and middle schools. These committees will review teaching activities, teachers’ attendance, students’ academic progress, discipline and available facilities every month. Their reports will be presented to the District Education Group meeting through the office of the concerned Deputy District Education Officer.

The performance of the cluster inspection committees was also reviewed. Officials were directed to speed up the inspection process and submit pending reports soon. The meeting stressed clear identification of shortcomings, teachers’ absence, teaching problems and lack of facilities.

Unusable rooms and school buses

The matter of unusable rooms at Government Girls High School Usta Muhammad was discussed. It was directed that such rooms be sealed for the safety of students and staff, and alternative space be provided.

The meeting expressed concern that three new school buses have been lying idle for the past ten months. It was decided to formally inform the Secretary Education Balochistan and recommend the necessary steps to put the buses into service.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ramzan Palal said that providing quality education and maintaining teachers’ attendance and discipline are the basic responsibility of the concerned officers and the education administration. According to him, improvement in the education system is not possible through meetings alone; practical implementation of decisions, accountability of officers and continuous monitoring are necessary.

He directed that inspections should not be limited to a mere formality. Instead, a real assessment should be made of the standard of teaching, the needs of students and the problems of institutions, government resources should be used effectively, and action should be taken in accordance with the law over absence.

The Deputy Commissioner expressed his resolve that the process of monitoring and review would be made more effective to improve the education system in Usta Muhammad district, while the implementation of the decisions would be reviewed again in the next meeting.

Photo: courtesy DGPR Balochistan