'Submit report in a week on pending cases over clearance of post-retirement dues'

MP | 29 January 2019, Kolkata: Expressing his displeasure over a number of pending cases in legal forums particularly related to clearing of dues of teaching and non-teaching staff post-retirement, state Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Tuesday sought report within seven days from the district inspectors of schools.

The minister chaired a review meeting with officials related to school education across the state and gave instructions that immediate steps should be taken to clear pending dues of retired teachers and non-teaching staff thereby, putting an end to litigations. It may be mentioned that most of the cases pending in legal forums are related to delay in payment of pension and gratuity of teachers.

A senior official of the school education department who was present in the meeting said the minister was also critical about the lack of vigil on the part of school inspectors in a number of districts in the state.

He also pulled up some of the officials concerned for their negligence in keeping a track of the activities in schools. "Some of the District Inspectors claimed that they had visited 70 to 80 percent of schools in their respective districts but the minister furnished documents of the school education department that revealed that they had not covered more than 50 percent of them," an official said.

"We want to have a clear idea of the student-teacher ratio and other infrastructural facilities of various schools in the state and for this, field visit is necessary. You cannot prepare a report sitting in your own office. I have made it clear that strong action will be taken against negligence in such work," Chatterjee said.

It may be mentioned that the department for the last few months has been pressing for rationalising the student-teacher ratio in the schools across the state. "There are more teachers in schools where there are less students and vice versa. This cannot go on," an official pointed out.

He also made it clear that no English medium schools can be opened without the nod of the Education department. It may be mentioned that a handful of schools in Alipurduar had started English medium without having the minimum of infrastructure which attracted the ire of the minister.