Shillong, Jan 11: To try to rid the state of the prevalence of proxy teachers, the Education Minister has requested village authorities to be the eyes and ears of the Meghalaya government and inform the department wherever the practice is taking place.
It has been known for government-appointed teachers to hire proxies to work in their place. This problem is especially prevalent in rural postings and is not solely applicable to teachers but to other government workers too.
Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui has urged village authorities to come forward and lodge complaints if there are school teachers who pay money to proxy teachers to teach on their behalf in village schools.
“This information is not new but it has been around for a long time on the allegation that there are school teachers who themselves do not go to teach school but just give it to others,” said Rymbui.
According to the minister, as per his knowledge, there is not a single report from the villages regarding proxy teachers.
“If there are such teachers, the School Managing Committee and the Dorbar Shnong should inform because it is not easy for the Sub-Divisional School Education Officers (SDSEOs) and School Inspectors to inspect each school on a daily basis,” Rymbui said.
If the proxy’s qualifications are not at par with the official teacher, this could lead to worse education outcomes for the students, which would hurt Meghalaya in the long-run. The state already has some of the worst educational performance grades in the country.
Rymbui added that it is also the responsibility of parents and other stakeholders to put an end to such practices even as he requested all the village authorities to immediately inform the Director of Education or the SDO Civil Sub Division or even the Deputy Commissioners so that such irregularities can be prevented.
