PUDUCHERRY: Students and parents of the Singaravelar Government High School in Veerampattinam staged a road blockade on Thursday, marking their protest against acute shortage of teachers and demanding immediate postings ahead of the half-yearly examinations.
The school, which has around 140 students from classes 6 to 10, has been functioning without teachers for English, social science, and science for the past nine months.
According to Viswanathan, leader of the local fishermen’s committee that organised the protest, the vacancies arose after some teachers retired and others were transferred. The drawing and social science teachers posted to the school have been deputed to other schools in Thavalakuppam and Karikalampakkam, he said.
With examinations approaching and large portions of the syllabus yet to be completed, parents expressed deep concern over their children’s future. “The shortage has severely affected the quality of education. In the quarterly exams, 80% of students failed in these subjects,” Viswanathan said.
Parents further alleged that despite repeated appeals, the school education department has not acted to resolve the issue. “We have represented the matter four times to the chief education officer (CEO) and the director of education, but teachers have still not been posted,” Viswanathan said.
Agitated parents and students gathered at the school entrance in the morning, criticising the department’s inaction. They later blocked the road, disrupting traffic for nearly an hour. Students placed their school bags at the school gate and sat on the road, while parents and villagers joined in, raising slogans demanding immediate teacher appointments.
Upon information, Ariyankuppam MLA Bhaskar, police inspector Arumugam, and CEO Kulasekaran rushed to the spot and held talks with the protestors. Following the CEO's assurance that necessary steps would be taken to post teachers at the earliest, the protesters dispersed after about half an hour.
Meanwhile, the Jeevrathinam Girls Middle School in Veerampattinam, with about 130 students, is also facing a shortage of teachers. Locals have urged the authorities to post adequate staff and upgrade the school to high school status.
