Educators protest with a call for boycott as government imposes financial audit and illiteracy survey, risking academic focus and overburdening the staff
Vijay Kombey, president, Maharashtra State Primary Teachers Committee
Frustrated by the imposition of non-academic tasks, teachers and academic staff from schools across the state are expressing strong opposition to the state government. In response to a government directive, teachers have initiated a boycott after being asked to review and provide data for the financial audit of the Midday Meal (MDM) scheme, conducted annually since 2015.
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The state government has initiated field audits and reconciliations for the internal audit of MDM scheme accounts from the financial year 2015-16 to 2019-20. Audit teams are visiting schools district by district, and teachers have been provided with a format to verify and input audit data from each year. The audit, as per the government-appointed auditor's letter started on August 7.
Mahendra Ganpule, spokesperson, Maharashtra School Principals’ Association
Describing the task as time-consuming and excessively burdensome, teachers throughout the state have commenced a boycott. Mahendra Ganpule, the state spokesperson for the Maharashtra School Principals' Association, defended their stance by stating, "Whenever there's a need, for a large number of educated individuals, teachers are roped in, whether it's for election duty, census activities, or, in this case, the meticulous audit verification of the MDM scheme spanning several years. Despite the Right to Education (RTE) Act, stipulating that teachers should not be engaged in non-academic duties, they are consistently burdened with such tasks. The annual audit already encompasses various data points, including fund allocation, expenditure breakdowns, implementation methodologies, and verification notes. Now, we're being asked to re-verify past audits and furnish data to the visiting audit teams."
Ganpule further added, "With nearly 50 per cent of teaching positions vacant across state schools and no teacher recruitment since 2012, educators are already overwhelmed by their academic responsibilities. While grappling with the gaps stemming from these vacancies, they're now being saddled with non-academic tasks as well. Every month, schools submit information on the school nutrition plan/MDM scheme to the education department. This information could serve as the basis for an audit without the need for a separate one. If the education department creates an online system to conduct audits based on daily school submissions, everyone's time would be spared."
Compounding the issue, teachers have recently been tasked by the state government to conduct a survey of the illiterate population. Teachers argue that these non-academic assignments are interfering with their core teaching responsibilities, but the education department insists on their completion. The survey, scheduled between August 17 and August 31, is part of the central government's Navbharat Saksharta Abhiyan.
Vijay Kombey, president of the Maharashtra State Primary Teachers Committee, emphasised, "Involving teachers in non-academic work will undoubtedly impact the overall teaching and learning process. The responsibility for implementing and auditing the midday meal or school nutrition scheme should not fall on teachers' shoulders. Furthermore, the education department has delegated the illiteracy survey under the Navbharat Literacy Mission to NGOs. It is illogical and counterproductive to assign primary teachers for this survey. The government should seriously reconsider this approach. We have unanimously decided to boycott these two tasks."
"Succeeding in their daily teaching responsibilities, planning lessons, adhering to the syllabus, and aligning with the National Education Policy's teaching methodologies are crucial for teachers. However, more often than not, they find themselves juggling academic and non-academic duties. It's imperative for the government to comprehend the situation and ensure that students' academic progress doesn't suffer due to teachers' overwhelming non-academic workload," noted Sushil Shejule, coordinator of Marathi Shala Sansthachalak Sangh.
Upon reaching out, Sharad Gosavi, the director of state primary education, was unavailable for comment.
7 Aug
Day audit began
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