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This is an archive article published on August 21, 2015
Physical education teachers to teach Marathi in BMC-run schools
Education Committee member Darade and a few other members of the education committee will discuss the issue with their seniors soons.
Members of the BMC’s education committee have alleged that the civic body has failed to appoint Marathi teachers for Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati-medium schools.Due to dearth of Marathi teachers in secondary and higher secondary non-Marathi medium civic schools, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) education department has asked physical education teachers to teach the subject.
Members of the BMC’s education committee have alleged that the civic body has failed to appoint Marathi teachers for Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati-medium schools.
This year the civic body has upgraded 152 of its schools till upto class VII. Most of these are Hindi and Urdu medium. Shivnath Darade, member of the BMC’s education committee, said: “Even though new classes have been added, the education department has not recruited qualified teachers for teaching Marathi. However they have asked physical education teachers to teach the subject on a part time basis.” Currently, there are 235 Hindi-medium, 205 Urdu-medium and 69 Gujarati-medium schools where Marathi is supposed to be taught.
Darade pointed out that as per the Right to Education Act, teachers appointed for class VI and VII need to be specialised. He said: “What is the need of celebrating Marathi Diwas or bragging about Marathi Manoos and Marathi Asmita, if we cannot provide proper Marathi teachers. A physical education teacher is specialised teaching in his subject, not Marathi. They will be able to teach only the basics. This will degrade the quality of Marathi taught. We have taken up this issue. But there has been no satisfactory reply from the BMC education department.”
Darade and a few other members of the education committee will discuss the issue with their seniors soons.
Another BMC education department official said, “We are not getting enough teachers but we have not stopped the process of recruitment. The physical education teachers have been asked to conduct classes on a temporary basis. We will relieve them as soon as we find specialised teachers.”
dipti.singh@expressindia.com
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