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Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Nearly 12,000 Jan Shikshaks, entrusted with monitoring academic activities in government schools and mentoring teachers to improve classroom learning, are under scrutiny for allegedly failing to perform their core responsibilities.

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Instead of regularly visiting schools and providing academic support, many are accused of making infrequent visits and restricting their role to routine inspections.

According to information obtained from Rajya Shiksha Kendra (RSK), Madhya Pradesh has 6,198 Jan Shiksha Kendras (JSKs).

With two Jan Shikshaks sanctioned at each centre, the state has around 12,396 Jan Shikshaks, although several posts remain vacant.

Working under the JSKs, Jan Shikshaks, also known as Cluster Academic Coordinators (CACs), are mandated to visit every school under their jurisdiction at least twice a month.

During these visits, they are expected to observe classroom teaching, help teachers overcome difficulties in teaching complex subjects, assess students' learning levels and take at least one class themselves.

They are considered the first level of academic support for government schools, working alongside officials like district project coordinator (DPC), assistant project coordinator (APC), block resource coordinator centre (BRCC) and block academic coordinator (BAC).

However, teachers claim that this objective is rarely fulfilled. A principal of a government school in Phanda Rural, Bhopal, told Free Press that CACs hardly visit schools and, when they do, their focus remains on administrative checks rather than academic guidance.

Another teacher, Upendra Kaushal, told Free Press that they never visit schools regularly.

Even when they do, they reportedly spend their time checking attendance registers, teacher absenteeism and the quality of the midday meal, instead of sitting inside classrooms to observe teaching methods or helping teachers improve learning outcomes.

Not marking e-attendance from schools

Like government school teachers, Jan Shikshaks are required to mark their attendance through the Hamare Shikshak app from their designated schools.

However, officials associated with JSKs said many of them mark attendance from Jan Shiksha Kendras or district offices instead of schools, making it difficult to verify whether they actually visited the schools assigned to them on a particular day.

Ex-CAC raises concerns

Former CAC and retired Rajya Shiksha Kendra official Damodar Jain said CACs were created to strengthen classroom teaching by mentoring teachers, not to function as inspection officials.

Schools are often informed in advance about their visits, defeating the purpose of monitoring and preventing any real assessment of classroom practices, he added.

Quote

"More than 40% of the sanctioned posts are lying vacant, which has adversely affected the monitoring of schools.

Several officials are currently serving on deputation, while others have been attached to different offices. To address the shortage, a deadline has been set to appoint CAC by August 20.

Siddharth Jain, DPC, Bhopal

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