The Government of Andhra Pradesh has expedited the handover of Municipal schools without assets to the School Education department. The officials ordered the municipal authorities to hand over to the School Education officers in the district with immediate action.
As soon as the orders were released by the Director of Municipal Administration, municipal commissioners handed over the schools for monitoring to the Education department.
The Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration Pravin Kumar issued orders to all the Municipal Commissioners of ULBs where Municipal Schools exist as well as RDMAs in the state to implement GO number 84 and directed them to take action accordingly.
According to the officials, as many as 123 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are in the state. But only 59 ULBs have 2,114 Municipal Schools. Of them, a total of 345 high schools, 149 upper primary schools and a total of 1,620 primary schools were located. A total of 13,948 teacher posts were allocated.
However, 296 headmasters are working out of 302 sanctioned, 213 LFL Headmasters are working out of 236, 4,857 School Assistants (SA) working out of 5,379 and 6,640 secondary grade teachers and equivalent are working out of 8031 posts sanctioned. That means 1,942 posts are still vacant in these Municipal schools. With the latest orders, all these will be under the monitoring and administration of School Education.
Teachers speak up
However, the municipal teachers' associations are demanding to cancel the GO 84.
Noble Teachers Association State president, Apparao Mulaka informed that they are opposing the implementation of GO 84 and said that the government is forcibly implementing such GO on the Municipal teachers without their interest.
He also stressed why the Municipal administration ordered to implement the GO and hand over the Municipal schools and their teachers to School Education by the evening of Friday, June 24. He also said that the act of the Director of Municipal Administration is against the 74 constitutional amendment.
He alleged that the common service rules of the Government school and Panchayati Raj Teachers were still in the court for the past 22 years.
Municipal Teachers Federation State President S Ram Krishna shared that there is a conspiracy to merge Municipal Schools with Zilla Parishad Schools is hidden in the current orders of DMA.
He demanded that the government implement the tribal GO MS 181 in the municipal schools and the Drawing and Disbursing Officer powers should be given to the HMs.
He also demanded to allocate MEO and DEO Municipal HeadMasters and the monitoring to be given to the municipal teachers only and demanded to implement Gratuity Provident Fund (GPF) to all the municipal teachers.
