‘Car Nicobar KV teachers can choose any posting’

And as the Ministry awaits reports from other states, it has been shaken by the fact that the impact of the disaster has been very different: There’s hardly been any infrastructural damage, the loss has to be computed in terms of human resources (teachers) and users (students).

On Tuesday, the Ministry issued transfer orders for Pushpendra Kumar Shukla, A. Ramesh, R.P. Singh, B.B. Lal, Keshav Dev and P. Jeeva Samuel. They are now free to choose their postings in any Kendriya Vidyalaya from Port Blair to Delhi Cantonment.

Principal B.M. Bimal, who had moved from his Bhind Road residence in Gwalior to teach at Car Nicobar, is still missing. He had joined in February last and was staying alone. Biology teacher Sishupalan, from Kollam in Kerala, was with the school for three years. He, too, cannot be traced.

There’s also no news of Pushpendra Yadav, a primary teacher who lived on the island with his wife; nor of Survesh Panchal, who lived with her brother and sister-in-law. John Peter, a Group-D employee, also cannot be found.

From other parts of Andamans, survivors from this school have been airlifted to relief camps.

The Ministry has pledged an advance release of January’s salary to KV teachers from affected areas and has decided to let KV students from tsunami-hit areas to seek admission in any other KV of their choice.

The Ministry is concerned about Andamans in particular as schools there are closer to the coastline. Besides, Andamans being a UT, the Centre has an additional responsibility.

HRD officials were part of the Central teams that begun surveying tsunami-hit territories today. The Ministry’s support to states like Tamil Nadu would depend on the states voicing their requirements.