MORANG: Students are making noise at the top of their voices in all the classrooms.Some are just entering the school premises, while quite a few others are wandering on the ground. At 11 am, no teacher is to be seen in any of the classrooms — some are chatting in the office though.

This is a typical scene at Laxmi Secondary School in Kerabari-9 of Morang on a recent afternoonHeadmaster Khambasing Thapa said that there

were six teachers for the primary, five for lower secondary and one for the secondary level. Two others are appointed in relief quota.

Students lamented that there was not a single day when all the teachers were present in the school. Basu Budhathoki, a local, said condition of most of the public schools in the vicinity was miserable as they were not being monitored by the authority. He said, for months, the teachers came to school only to receive their salary, without performing their duties.

Sharmila Khadka of Jante-5 said authorities had paid no attention to stop such irregularities rife in the schools despite being informed several times. ‘’The state of affairs suggests a bleak future for these students,” she regretted.

Thapa admitted that the teachers were not regular. Some teachers were on leave while others did not join duty due to the chilly weather, he said. “This is normal. Going to the classes an hour late is no big deal,” he snubbed.

Jante Secondary School in Jante-2 is in no better situation. The two schools give the whole picture of the state of public schools in rural Morang. Teachers of Kerabari, Letang, Bhogateni, Tandi, Jante, and Ramitekhola also do not care to teach pupils. Even if they reach school on time, they do not go to their classes duly.

Local residents say the District Education Office should step in to stop the irregularities. When asked about the same, the DEO officials had no idea as to what was going on in institutions under their area of inspection.