High school teachers in Sangareddy district, Telangana, are upset over the new regulation that they should give an undertaking that they would be liable for action if any student fails in the subject he or she teaches.
Recently, Sangareddy District Collector Dr A Sharath, at a review meeting with the principals of the high schools and leaders of the teachers' union, made it clear that they have to ensure 100 per cent results in SSC examinations. Though they had achieved 97 per cent result last year, the collector said he wants them to close the gap and make it 100 per cent.
In this context, the collector said that the teachers would have to give in writing that they understand they would be liable for action if their students fail in the subjects they teach, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
In pursuance of the collector's directive, District Education Officer Nampally Rajesh asked the Mandal Education Officers (MEOs) to take letters of consent from the teachers. A few MEOs have already collected consent letters.
Teachers are not happy
But the teachers' unions now are furious with the decision. They question the district administration how it can ask teachers to own responsibility if the student does not fare well without providing them books for six months after the reopening of schools. They demand that the collector should revisit his decision.
They have submitted petitions to the DEOs that there were no instances of even private schools getting 100 per cent results and it is not fair to expect the government schools to achieve the feat with inadequate infrastructure, as reported by The New Indian Express.
Founder President of Telangana Panchayati Raj Teachers Union Harshavardhan Reddy, while demanding the withdrawal of the order, said that it was not appropriate for the district collector to threaten action if results were not 100 per cent without providing proper facilities.
He said that a number of teachers' posts have not yet been filled and books were not supplied for six months since the reopening of schools.
What the DEO has to say
When contacted, the DEO said that last year, the district achieved 97 per cent results and that he was expecting the teachers to work harder to reach the 100 per cent target. If any student is dull in studies, he or she should be identified and special classes should be organised for him or her.
He said that the collector also suggested that if a student fails in any subject, the teacher of the subject concerned should take responsibility.
He explained that apart from giving snacks in the evening to the students, educated persons in the village were being hired for two months with an honorarium. Already 106 such persons had been hired, he said.
He said that no one objected when the collector asked them to give consent letters at the meeting. The teachers' unions are raising objections now. The collector will have to take a final decision on the demand of the teachers, he said.
