MACR team visits Churachandpur
Source: The Sangai Express / S Singlianmang Guite
Lamka, August 31 2013 :
A fact finding team of Manipur Alliance for Child Rights (MACR) yesterday visited Churachandpur to oversee the performance of educational institutions and other Government agencies in upholding the constitutionally guaranteed rights for children.
The team, according to its convener Keisham Pradip Kumar, was in the district to bridge any gap that may have arisen in implementing the rights of children.
They have in the process visited two schools; one run by the Government one from the privately managed groups.
They have also met officials of the social welfare department and briefed the ZEO.
They have briefed and alerted the ZEO on the lack of clean drinking water at the Government school, the need for splitting the over-crowded classes� some of which crosses 190 students, and lack of usable toilet facilities.
The ZEO on his part claimed that sanctioning authority doesn't rest on him, but nevertheless promised to take the matter to his superiors.
The ZEO has also promised the MACR team to initiate punitive action against those teachers who have engaged substitutes when he was told by the visiting team that they have during the course of their survey came across the practice in several schools.
They have given the names of the schools where such practices were detected but stop short in divulging the names of the teachers.
Instead they told the ZEO, since the illegal practices has been established the onus of initiating action lies on him.
Whether free education has been ensured for the children, were there separate toilets for both the sexes, if school uniforms were given free of cost and provisions made for disable students were some of the enquiries the team had made during the visit.
In fact, upon enquiring if 25 percent reservation was made for economically backward students with provision for free education, the private school has claimed that they were ready to implement the RTE provision but their memo to the government which was to reimburse the expenses remains unanswered.
Upon enquiring, the ZEO said two private schools St Paul's Institute and Covenant School has intimated their readiness to make the reservation so far and the same has been forwarded to the National Commission for Child Rights.
At least one of them is said to have received a reply from the commission.