PUDUCHERRY: Congress MLA M Vaidyanathan, accompanied by aggrieved parents, staged a protest at the Directorate of School Education on Thursday, demanding immediate action to address the acute shortage of teachers at the Navallar Nedunchezhaian Government Higher Secondary School in Lawspet, Puducherry.
The protest, which began at the Directorate office, saw a gathering of parents of Class 12 students who expressed deep concern over the absence of subject teachers for over a year. According to the MLA, the school currently lacks teachers for several key subjects, including Agriculture, Painting, Computer Science, Psychology, Tourism and Botany.
“For certain subjects, teachers are available only three days a week and are then deputed to other schools. The same teacher handles both Physics and Psychology, while the Mathematics teacher is also taking Tourism classes,” Vaidyanathan said.
While lauding the efforts of school principal Arpita Das for instilling discipline and tackling alcohol and substance abuse among students, the MLA criticised the School Education Department for its arbitrary redeployment of teachers, which he said was severely impacting the academic performance of students.
Despite repeated complaints from parents during parent-teacher meetings and multiple representations made by the MLA, including written appeals to the department, no action had been taken, he added.
Parents said they were compelled to enrol their children in private tuition centres, spending up to Rs 1,500 per month despite facing financial difficulties. “That is how our children managed to achieve 100% pass results in the CBSE Class 12 exams,” said a parent.
The group initially gathered at the Directorate office seeking an audience with Joint Director V G Sivagami. After waiting for over an hour without any response, they launched a sit-in protest within the premises. With no official forthcoming, the protestors moved to Indira Gandhi Square, blocking traffic at the busy junction.
Following police intervention, the protest shifted back to the Directorate. Joint Director Sivagami later arrived and held discussions with the MLA and parents. “This is not a one-day or one-month issue — it has persisted for over a year. Had teachers been appointed, we would not be forced to spend Rs 1,500 every month on private coaching,” parents said during the meeting.
After the official assured that the issue would be addressed within a few days, the protest was withdrawn, the MLA confirmed.