District Education Officer (DEO) slapped show-cause notices on 230 teachers, who were not attending the 'SSC examination papers' evaluation (spot) duties',  frequently. At the spot evaluation camp that has been running since Monday at the Government Queen Mary's Girls High School in Visakhapatnam, day-to-day attendance of the teachers is decreasing. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday around 250 teachers, who were posted as special assistants at the spot camp, were found to be absent from duties.

As a result, the spot evaluation got halted, as the teachers were the key players in the entire process. After becoming aware of the situation the miffed DEO B Lingeswar Reddy slapped show-cause notices on all the teachers, for dereliction of duty and staying away from work without any prior permission, as is the norm. "After receiving their explanation, we will decide on the further course of action," the DEO said. 

Disparity in remuneration

Among all of these people, the special assistants are not happy with the remuneration they will get for the spot duties. Every special assistant at the spot camp is paid Rs 176 per day, whereas assistant examiners are paid Rs 540 a day and the special assistants are questioning the disparity. Dissatisfied, most of them have become truant. 

Meanwhile, most of the teachers, who received notices reported to duties on Friday and some of them applied for leave on health grounds. Rest of the teachers approached teachers' union leaders and other political leaders to influence the department officials. In this connection, teachers' union leaders expressed anger on the district authorities.

"The government is offering various slabs of payments for the same work and it is not fair on its part. As they offer very meagre remuneration to the special assistants, the teachers who were in the 'spot' programme under 'special assistants' category are not at all interested to work. The government should see to this problem and increase their remuneration to bring it on par with the assistant examiners or at least it should be enhanced to Rs 500. If the government is aggressive, we too would react in the same way and if necessary, we will give a call for pen-down strike at all spot centres," said a union leader.