Classes slashed due to lack of teachers in secondary school

Dipayal, March 28

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority had suspended four teachers of Masteshwor Lower Secondary School in Machhantola, Doti, of Dipayal Silgadi Municipality for their alleged involvement in financial irregularities.

Laxman Safi, Muktiraj Joshi, Sunita KC, and Bir Bahadur Saud were suspended in March last year for their involvement in misappropriation of Rs 455,000 allocated for the school’s physical infrastructure from the fiscal of 2007/08 to fiscal 2011/13.

The school previously employed five teachers — one contractual teacher, one government-appointed, two under relief quota, and one temporary teacher. With the suspension of four of its five teachers, the school now has only one teacher for 198 students. Although the teachers were suspended one year ago, the school has not yet hired teachers.

The school has cut down the number of classes it runs. The school used to run classes till Grade VIII in the past, but now it only has classes till grade V. Besides, the school is often closed for months.

The only teacher in the school Nara Bahadur Bohara said, “The VDC has stopped providing us with funds after the suspension of four teachers on corruption charges. We have no option but to cut down the classes we run.”

The suspended teachers deny any wrongdoing. Joshi, one of the teachers who was suspended, said, “We did not do anything wrong. We had been able to save money from the amount allocated for infrastructure development because locals donated their labour. We decided to keep the remaining money to pay our salary.”