Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The future administration of Labour Department residential schools has become the centre of an inter-departmental tussle, bringing two senior bureaucrats face to face during a meeting on the proposed merger held on Thursday. The final decision is now expected to be taken by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
Officials point out that government schools are currently administered by multiple departments, including the School Education Department, Tribal Affairs Department and Labour Department, resulting in separate administrative structures and expenditure.
A proposal has therefore been made to merge the Tribal Affairs Department and Labour Department schools under the School Education Department.
According to sources, the School Education Department has argued that these schools should be merged with and operated by it, contending that running schools is not the responsibility of the Labour Department.
The dispute also led to a sharp exchange during a meeting attended by senior officials, including labour secretary Raghuraj MR and School Education Secretary Sanjay Goyal.
In the Labour Department, staff appointments are made by the Labour Welfare Board under fixed-remuneration norms.
Labour Department officials said in the meeting that as the board is the appointing authority, transferring the schools would create administrative complications, while School Education Department officials argued that a single administrative framework would improve governance and academic outcomes.
Governor writes to CM
The issue has also attracted the Governor's attention. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Governor Mangubhai Patel opposed the proposal to merge schools meant for Tribal students with the School Education Department.
He suggested that educational institutions catering to Tribal communities should continue under the Tribal Affairs Department, arguing that the department has better social, cultural and institutional understanding of Tribal students and their needs.
The Governor also cautioned that departmental restructuring could adversely affect Tribal education and urged the Chief Minister to reconsider the proposal.
Labour schools run by board-appointed staff
The Labour Department established residential schools in cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur to provide quality education to children of labourers.
At present, the entire staff in these schools has been recruited on contract by the Labour Welfare Board. Officials of the School Education Department have only been assigned monitoring responsibilities.
