The district education office in Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur, March 23: A surprise inspection in 52 government-run primary and middle schools in Jamshedpur block has exposed various shortcomings in the way they were being run, leading to the dismissal of 11 teachers and disciplinary action against 39 headmasters.

Conducted by a team deputed by Kolhan regional deputy director of education (RDDE) Negendra Thakur as the first step to enforce Right to Education in the district, the inspection also led to five schools being awarded certificates of appreciation for their good performance. They were Dimna Middle School, Deoghar Middle School, Bhilaipahari Middle School, Pardih Middle School, and Primary School, Bagunnagar.

“This was one of the initiatives to successfully implement the law… We do not want to leave any stone unturned and hence we have taken action against all those who were found guilty of not performing their duty,” said Sushil Kumar, the district superintendent of education of East Singhbhum.

Eleven teams, comprising three to four members including block resource officers (BEO) and cluster resource persons (CRP) in each, inspected the schools that were chosen at random in Jamshedpur block in February.

While 11 para teachers — employed on contract — were dismissed for dereliction of duty, salaries of as many as 39 headmasters and 70 teachers were held back. Eight schools were issued strict warnings to improve their performance.

The inspection also revealed several deficiencies in the arrangements for distributing midday meals. At several schools, teams detected that low quality foodgrains were being used and meals were being prepared and stored in unhygienic conditions.

The education department has decided to conduct more such surprise inspections in schools in various other blocks of the district in order to keep a tab on the ground realities.

As in the first time, schools will again be chosen at random to conduct the inspection. “We are doing our best to correct the drawbacks,” Kumar added.