KALYANI MITRA, mayoral council member (education) of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, met readers of The Telegraph to answer their queries. Participants included Sourish Misra, Sandip Chakroborty, Kshirod Bhattacharya, Sandip Banerjee, Tanusree Das, Priyanka Dasgupta, Bijoli Debnath and Dinesh Tewari

Sandip Banerjee: According to media reports, love affairs among schoolstudents are on the rise. Most of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) schools are coeducational institutions. How do you plan to tackle the problem?

I assure you that teenage love affairs have been there since time immemorial. It is the mode of manifestation of teenage love that is important. We try to keep a close watch on the students to ensure they do not cross boundaries.

Also, I don?t think the media reports are strictly accurate. Only a section of the students, most of them from rich families and studying in private institutions, indulge in unwelcome behaviour. It would be a mistake to conclude that there is a behavioural problem among teenagers based on the actions of a lovesick minority.

Tanusree Das: Has Sarva Siksha Abhijan been successful in civic schools?

I am not sure the project will bring about an improvement in the primary education system. The scheme is without a definite policy or goal. Having said that, some schools have received funds under Sarva Siksha Abhijan to construct rooms and instal tube-wells. Hence, a scramble has started among NGOs to work as contractors.

Sandip Chakroborty: If you are not happy with the role played by NGOs, why do you allow them to operate from the premises of civic schools?

Patha Bhavan, on Palm Avenue, and Bengal Social Service, in east Calcutta, are organisations that are collecting grants by showing the roll strength of civic schools in which they have undertaken training activities.

Patha Bhavan runs a montessori training unit in a civic school. It is claiming the student strength of the school as its own.

I will not allow this to continue. If NGOs are in need of space, they can approach clubs.

Sandip Chakroborty: Is it a fact that in some one-teacher civic primary schools, grade IV staff take classes in the teacher?s absence?

Yes, it is a fact in at least 30 schools. Reorientation and reorganisation of civic schools is essential to stop this kind of practice. There are a number of civic schools with more than one teacher where not more than five students study. The grade IV staff generally do not teach, but keep an eye on the students.

Dinesh Tewari: In ward 1, there are 35 slums but not a single CMC primary school. Are you planning to set up a school there?

There are two CMC schools in the area ? a Hindi-medium school in bustee no. 97 and a Bengali-medium school in Kashiswar Chatterjee Lane. However, I admit there is no CMC school in ward 6. The residents of the ward haven?t yet asked us to set up a school there.

Kshirod Bhattacharya: Is there a dress code for the students of civic schools?

No. The previous civic board had come up with a dress code before placing orders for uniforms to a private unit without floating a tender. The total strength in the 279 CMC schools is 31,641. Only 5,000 students have so far got their uniforms.

Sandip Chakroborty: Some civic school buildings are unsafe. Why aren?t you undertaking repair work?

All such schools run from rented premises. The rent is so low that the house-owners cannot be expected to undertake repair work. They would be relieved if the CMC vacates the premises. The civic body cannot repair the buildings without permission of the owners.

Concluded