School put under lock and key , students and guardians up in arms over critical shortage of teachers

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, November 11, 2025

The school education system in Tripura seems inexorably headed for a virtual collapse over critical shortage of teachers and non-teaching staff. This became evident yesterday in Sabroom subdivision of south Tripura district. Miffed over the shortage of teachers the students and guardians of the Shyamsing higher secondary school yesterday locked up the main gate of the school and started protesting with slogans in front of the closed school gate. The situation was later partially retrieved by posting of a new teacher to the school by the district education officer (DEO).

Sources from Sabroom said that the Shyamsing higher secondary school where altogether 385 students are enrolled has had no teacher for Bio-science over the past six months and no teacher for political science over the past six years. There is no female teacher in the school and , as a result, the girls who from 70% of the student strength can not complain to a teacher about any private matter requiring urgent attention. The students and their guardians have brought these important issues to the notice of the authority repeatedly but no step has been taken to redress the grievances of students and guardians. What is most amazing is that there is substaff or grade-IV employee in the school.

The anger of students and guardians of the school erupted yesterday and they closed down the school. After the report of the lock-down in the school had reached the district education officer (DEO) D.K.Debbarma , he tried to buy a temporary truce by transferring a teacher Babul Debnath from Shashi Chandra Para senior basic school to Shyamsing HS school . The newly transferred Babul Debnath will join the Shyansing HS school tomorrow. After receiving information about the transfer the students and guardians withdrew their lockdown but warned the authorities that unless the shortage of teachers was made up , they will soon resume the lockdown and other forms of protest. Sources said that Shyamsing HS school has always been reputed to be a good school with very good performance of students in the Madhyamik and HS (+2) exams but the standard of teaching is poor because of lack of adequate number of teachers.

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