Staff Reporter
Dimapur, April 1 (EMN): Continuing its rich tradition of gracing the bad books of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India’s yearly reports, the state’s School Education department has once again managed to get a ticket to the show. The baggage, too, is formidable enough.
As per the CAG report for the year ended on March 31, the School Education department still appears to be stumbling its way from one mishap to another. Nagaland, according to the report, still does not have the mandatory State Recognition Rules to govern establishment and recognition of new schools after the state Right to Education (RTE) rules were notified.
Under RTE Act, no schools other than those established, owned or controlled “by the appropriate government or local authority”, could be established without obtaining certificate of recognition from the proper authorities. “The certificate of recognition shall be granted only to school(s) which fulfils norms and standards specified in the Act.
“Examination of records revealed that the State Recognition Rules which was required to be framed within three months of the notification of the state RTE rules had not been framed even after a lapse of five years. It is not clear in the absence of such rules how the recognition to schools was being given. No reply was furnished by the authority concerned,” the CAG report read. While informing that though the state government had formed ‘governing body and state advisory committee’ to monitor and also advise the government on ‘implementation of RTE Act’, the report noted that the impact of the constitution of the two bodies could not even be assessed ‘as details of their meeting and the minutes were not provided’.
During the ‘audit period’, it stated, the average enrolment of students in government schools was less than 50 percent even as government schools form 73 percent of the total number of schools in the state. This was an indication that the objective of free and compulsory education envisaged by the RTE Act was not fully achieved, it stated.
“The provision for 25 percent reservation for weaker and disadvantaged children was not implemented in the state. Contrary to the provisions of RTE Act, collection of admission fee by schools was noticed in audit.”
Financial irregularities in the department found during the audit have already been highlighted earlier by this newspaper. The report highlighted that though the creation of a new government middle school at Vihokhu village in Dimapur was approved at an estimated cost of Rs 15.70 lakh in 2010-11, the building was yet to be completed “even after a lapse of five years”. The full amount of the cost was released in September 2012, it noted.
Similarly, the government primary school at Bungsang in Dimapur was also approved for Rs 15 lakh, it stated. “The entire amount was released, however the school building is still incomplete.” the report also featured photographs of (incomplete) buildings of both the schools.
However, the report cited a reply from the state mission director of SSA which had expressed expectation of completing the constructions in November 2016, it stated that the GMS building at Vihokhu has ‘since been completed’.
It also observed that the state government had made no attempts to “rationalise teachers as per RTE norms”. Nagaland still has 48 primary schools and 36 upper primary schools with single teachers, it informed.
However, it stated, there were three schools in Kohima with no more than 4 students but with 2 to 5 teachers each. GPS Lower Nagabazar had only 2 students but 5 teachers, a single student in GPS Thechuma Basa and 2 teachers, and GPS Touphema had 4 teachers for 4 students, it informed.
The state government did not conduct teacher eligibility test for those appointed under SSA scheme during 2011 and 2013 which, it stated, was in contravention of MHRD notification. “As of September 2016, there were 10,690 untrained teachers in the state,” the report read.
“It was further noticed from the records that the state mission authority, SSA retained a cash balance of Rs 0.51 crore to Rs 40.82 crore in bank account as on 31 March of a particular year. It was further noticed that the DMA (district mission authority) also retained cash balance in bank account ranging from Rs 5.03 crore to Rs 16.38 crore.
“Thus it indicates that the department was unable to absorb the funds provided by the government and also indicated weak financial management,” it reported.
Also, the report highlighted that there were still 164 ‘eligible habitations’ without primary schools and 125 ‘eligible habitations’ without upper primary schools.
