Chief minister Arjun Munda at the news conference. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, May 2: Corporate India is creeping into Jharkhand’s classrooms. The government has decided to compulsorily retire school teachers who fail to deliver.

At an informal press meet today, chief minister Arjun Munda said the government would take stringent steps to improve the quality of education in the state. As a first step, teachers whose performance was found to be unsatisfactory over a period of time would be offered the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).

“The state government is not going to tolerate non-performing teachers. We have decided to launch VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) to take care of such teachers. We cannot compromise on education, the vital ingredient for development of the state. The step is aimed at improving the standard of education and to make teachers accountable and productive,” Munda said.

Expressing concern over the dwindling number of students in government schools, the chief minister said parents preferred not to send their children to government schools mainly because of the poor standard of education. Many schools are not imparting quality education because the teachers fail to deliver,” he said.

Teachers appeared sceptical of the government move. “Who decides whether a teacher is delivering or not? There has to be an impartial monitoring agency. Otherwise, teachers will feel scared that some vested interest might work against them,” said a Ranchi school teacher who did not wish to be named.

Munda admitted that the home-block posting scheme to boost the morale of teachers and help them impart quality education had failed to yield desired results. Teachers got themselves transferred to their home blocks, but failed to deliver, he said.

The chief minister announced that the government would support unaided schools which impart teaching to students hailing from below the poverty line.

“Unaided schools have often been demanding government support. We have decided to conduct a survey of such schools to identify institutions that are catering to the needs of the poor people, especially in the rural areas. They will be given adequate support and encouragement by the state government,” he said.