Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 31:
All Manipur Government Higher Secondary Lecturers' Welfare Association has visited a memorandum to the visiting Central official team for improvement of education system in the State.
The memorandum submitted to the visiting Central team yesterday asserted that the State has been witnessing misappropriation of funds in the Department of Education (S) since its inception.
Reports of frequent misappropriation of funds are the day to day affairs of the Department, the memorandum said, while citing the recent newspaper reports of swindling lakhs of rupees sanctioned under Central Assistance schemes for providing computers.
It is a matter of great surprise that TV sets costing Rs 13,000 were supplied to 15 Government Schools by Manipur Electronics Development Corporation (MANITRON) in lieu of Video Home Theatre costing Rs 1,68,260, the memorandum signed y its general secretary M Joykumar Singh said, while observing that rampant corruption and misappropriation of funds in this Department are the main causes of deteriorating quality of education and irregular payment of salary of teachers.
If this trend continues in this Department, the endeavour of achieving free and compulsory education by 2010 as enshrined in the Constitution of India could never be achieved, the memorandum expressed concern.
The memorandum further said that it a matter of concern that the parents and guardians are sending their wards outside the State for imparting education spending their hard earned money.
According to estimates, about Rs 300 crores are spending in sending students outside Manipur for education.
If the funds released by the Centre for education were properly utilised such a situation would never arise, the memorandum noted.
On the problems being faced by the lecturers of Government Higher Secondary Schools, the memorandum pointed out that even if the lecturers are appointed on recommendation of Manipur Public Service Commission from time to time, the salaries of these lecturers are held up time and again in the pretext of verification of services and appointments.
To elucidate the point, the memorandum also enclosed the crash message issued by the Commissioner of Education (S) on May 31, 2005 instructing various Treasury Officers to stop disbursement of salaries of teachers.
The Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has taken up a case regarding holding of salary of about 12,000 teachers serving in various Government Schools in Manipur, the memorandum further pointed out.