Out of 242 Kolkata Municipal corporation primary (KMCP) schools the number of schools being run by single teachers is above 30. While these teachers are engaged in the work of counting the number of families living below the poverty line, the children of these schools are going back home without having even a single class.

Also, in the absence of the teachers, junior staff members are running the schools. And they are just operating the mid-day meal programme.

The KMCP School at Metiaburuz Barasahebtala is one such institution. Mohammad Ilias, the only teacher of the school, is busy conducting the BPL survey in Behala. Ilias was picked up by the civic body to join the survey team, on April 23. The head teacher of the school, Bimal Kumar Biswas, has retired a few months back. Also, the other teacher Krishna Ghosh was transferred recently.

“We protested against including Iliyas, the lone teacher of the school, in the BPL survey. The KMC authorities then requested Krishna to stay back,” said Sushil Bhattacharya, General Secretary of the KMCP teachers’ union. Krishna Ghosh is presently taking care of the mid-day meal programme of the school.

Sources in the education department confirmed that the same problem exists in other KMCP schools also.

The Chief Manager of the Education Department, Sabhyasachi De, however tried to justify the situation. “Completing the BPL list is very important. It should not be a great problem for the teachers due to the onset of the summer vacation.”

The training for the survey work started in the first week of April.