In an ironic incident, the headmaster of the Government High School at BS Beleri Village in Gadag district of Karnataka claimed that the peon of the school was more “eligible” to teach mathematics than him. This came to light after the headmaster was caught to be using his phone in a mathematics class for 10th-grade students, while the peon taught the students.
After most of the villages in the state were hit by incessant floods, the Department of Public Instruction has advised the authorities to run the schools for additional hours to cover the syllabus.
The Government High School at BS Beleri village has 65 students in total, eight teachers, one guest teacher and a headmaster. With 25 students studying in Class 10, the mathematics class was being conducted by school peon Mallesh instead of headmaster B M Kataraki.
It is not something that happened for the first time, it is a daily affair in the school and has been going on from the last several months.
The shocking incident drew serious criticism as villagers demand strict action against the headmaster and the school authorities. Parents said that they cannot put their children’s future at stake as there are multiple complaints of the headmaster’s irresponsible and careless attitude during class hours.
Multiple complaints surfaced accusing the headmaster of using his phone during class hours when parents feared their children’s future will be at risk. However, headmaster Kataraki defended his action and praise peon Mallesh for his capabilities.
“The peon is good in Mathematics and he teaches well, so I have asked him to take the classes. Allegations slammed against me for being busy in the mobile phone during class hours are false,” he said.
As the mobile phone is commonly used as a medium to communicate with higher officials, the Headmaster said he would glance at his phone during classes. However, the students opposed the headmaster’s claims.
“Peon Mallesh is taking classes to complete the syllabus. The headmaster is busy with his mobile most of the time. The peon has been teaching us for the last four months,” a student said.
While the issue was brought to the Block Education Officer N Nanjudayya, he claimed to be unaware of the issue.
The Logical Indian strongly opposes this sheer negligence on the part of the school authorities that puts the future of children at risk and calls for strict action against the inefficient and irresponsible teaching staff members.