Due to non availability of science and maths teachers, posts of lecturers are lying vacant in most schools of Bastar despite the fact that the school education department is trying for the last four years to fill the vacant posts and even promoted shikshakarmis to the post of lecturers.
In fact roster system of reservation has crippled the entire proceedings of teachers’ appointment rendering hundreds of posts of teachers remain vacant. In general category there is no dearth of suitable applicants for the respective subjects but the compulsion of adhering to roster of quota for different reserved categories higher secondary schools located in Bastar division are facing the ever ending crunch of teachers.
Notably, appointments of Shikshakarmis are being done for the last 4 years, but able candidates are not available from the reserved categories.As per rule, on these posts no candidate from other sections can be appointed due to which posts of teachers of even important subjects like science and maths are lying vacant for quite some time.
For joining the engineering as well as medical courses at graduation level, thorough knowledge and good score in science, maths as well as English are must in higher secondary classes. But due to unavailability of teachers and lecturers in these subjects are widely affecting the future of Tribal students. Students of town and cities have the facilities of good schools as well coaching but students of rural areas specially of tribal areas are devoid of both – they neither get quality teaching in schools due to lack of teachers nor their low earnings allow them to join coaching.
According to information received from school education department, even after a hectic selection activity one post of lecturer of Maths of General (handicapped) category is still vacant whereas out of 106 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes category only 2 have been filled, all 54 seats belonging to Scheduled Tribes Women category are vacant.
likewise, in Physics subject for 93 posts reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories, only two posts have been filled and for the remaining 91 posts there was no applicant. Same situation is seen on the posts of Chemistry as for the 73 reserved posts only nine candidates were available while out of 108 posts of lecturers of Biology only 9 could be filled. Situation in English subject too is not better as out of 136 posts, merely 42 were available for appointment.
And this is the scenario when for the vacant posts of Shikshakarmi Group I, applicants had applied from all over state but able candidates were not available for reserved category posts.