SSC spot valuation hit by shortage of teachers

Shortage of special assistants at the centralised SSC spot valuation camp here has become a cause of concern for the School Education authorities in the district as it posed a hurdle in the way of completing the ongoing SSC spot valuation work expeditiously within the stipulated time-frame. The spot valuation of SSC public examination answer scripts is presently underway at the centralised spot valuation camp located on the premises of St. Joseph's high school here. The camp will continue up to April 22. Out of the total 375 special assistants drafted for the work from all over the district, only little over 170 of them turned up for duties on the inaugural day of the valuation camp on Saturday, sources added. While several of them got exemption from the duties on “health” and other “personal reasons”, many others reportedly abstained from duties due to reluctance to take up spot valuation duty in view of intense heat wave conditions. The “meagre remuneration” to the personnel drafted for spot valuation work and other factors reportedly dissuaded several of them from taking part in the spot valuation camp, sources said. There is a shortage of 27 special assistants in the ongoing spot valuation camp, said N Rajesh, District Educational Officer, Khammam. When contacted, he told The Hindu that efforts are on to overcome the shortage of special assistants by drafting additional secondary grade teachers from various parts of the district to ensure completion of the entire spot valuation work by April 22.