Miscellaneous
200 teachers resign after CIAA probe
The Education Ministry is making plans to hire new teachers after 200 teachers in the mid-western region have resigned since the CIAA started a probe into academic certificates.J.Pandey
The teachers have started quitting en masse fearing action as the CIAA asked the teachers in 15 districts to submit their academic certificates for verification, said an informed source. "As of mid-July, 200 teachers from primary, secondary and higher secondary level schools have resigned," said Regional Director Ram Prasad Upadhyaya of Mid-west Regional Education Directorate. But he added that fake certificate was not the only reason behind the mass resignations.
"While CIAA action may be a major factor, many of the teachers have been advised to resign taking into account the quality education they have been dissipate," said Upadhyaya. Along with teachers eligible for compulsory retirement, teachers with their children studying abroad have also tendered their resignations, said education officers.
According to the available records, Surkhet ranks on top among the 15 districts with 60 teachers tendering their resignations. In the course of investigation, it came to light that even those who had studied till grade 3 had been teaching primary level students.
Meanwhile, Joint Secretary at the Education Ministry Mukunda Niraula said they were planning to merge some schools on the basis of the number of students and fill the vacant posts to cope with the mass resignations. Amid the surge in the resignations, the ministry is mulling whether to subject the teachers found guilty to departmental action. "The problem has been witnessed across the nation. As the trend is yet to die down, we are not in a position to comment about the type of action to be taken," Niraula said, adding that they would act as per the CIAA direction.
The appointment of teachers under political influence and financial gains are believed to be the primary factor behind the incongruity in the sector.