Itanagar, The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union has submitted a memorandum to Education Minister PD Sona over a host of demands, including teacher recruitment and improvement of infrastructure.
An AAPSU delegation led by president Meje Taku met the minister on Wednesday and submitted the memorandum highlighting issues faced by students across all 26 districts of the state, according to a statement issued on Thursday.
The union said 52 government schools in the state are functioning without regular principals or vice principals.
The absence of full-time heads has adversely affected academic and administrative functioning, the union said, demanding immediate appointments to all vacant posts of principals, vice principals and headmasters.
AAPSU also called for a state-wide recruitment drive to fill vacancies of primary teachers (PRT), trained graduate teachers (TGT) and postgraduate teachers (PGT).
The union further highlighted the shortage of physical education and music teachers in government schools, noting that such appointments are mandated under the National Education Policy 2020 and the Right to Education Act.
The students’ body also sought proper implementation of the RTE Act in remote and tribal areas, regular supply of mid-day meals, uniforms and textbooks, introduction of a uniform fee structure in government schools, and a funded programme for improving infrastructure in border and remote regions.
AAPSU also demanded the recruitment of assistant and associate professors in government degree colleges.
The union also raised concerns over the functioning of Arunachal Pradesh University and demanded the appointment of a regular vice chancellor, as the post has remained vacant since February this year.
AAPSU also called for infrastructure upgrades and removal of alleged encroachments at Jawaharlal Nehru College in Pasighat.
Among other demands, the union urged the government to establish professional colleges in agriculture, horticulture, medicine and nursing, and introduce foreign language courses such as Japanese and German along with overseas career guidance programmes.
The minister assured the delegation that the demands would receive due attention, the statement said.
