To ensure that students in single-teacher schools do not suffer academically due to a break in continuity of teaching whenever the teacher avails leave, the government has created the post of Cluster Reserve Mobile Teacher (CRMT).
A G.O. released to this effect said the Department of School Education had noticed instances of difficulties faced by students in single and double-teacher schools whenever the teachers went on leave with no substitute to take their place, because of reasons such as the Mandal Education Officer (MEO) failing to make alternative arrangements or whenever a teacher opted for leave without informing (French leave). There were also instances of the MEO making alternative arrangements but the substitute teacher attending late.
From 2001 to 2009, the department appointed B. Ed-qualified candidates as Cluster Resource Persons (CRPs) for every two to three high schools, and tasked them with collection of data of school dropouts, hand-hold children of primary and upper primary schools for enrolment in higher classes, map primary and upper primary schools with high schools, monitor implementation of the Mid-Day Meal scheme, maintain records of all schools, collect data related to teachers’ vacant posts and teach students as a substitute whenever the regular teacher was on leave.
Now that these tasks are being handled by MEOs, Village Educational and Welfare Assistants and volunteers, the CRP posts have become redundant.
Therefore, it has been decided to utilise services of the 3,489 CRPs, who have been re-designated as CMRT, as substitute teachers at the 9,602 single-teacher schools in the State. Each CMRT will cover 3-4 schools and report to the MEO. Soon, a mobile attendance app would be designed by the department, said the G.O.
