Teacher associations in Coimbatore have objected to the pasting of a memo in front of the house of a postgraduate teacher facing disciplinary action over alleged improper scrutiny of the answer script for half yearly examination. The headmistress (HM) of the government higher secondary school at Sholayar Dam at Valparai herself affixed the memo seeking an explanation after the teacher, R Vijayalakshmi, reportedly did not respond to the first one served to her.
The school education department as well as teachers' unions demanded the Chief Educational Officer to intervene. The memo was posted on the door of Vijayalakshmi's rented house on Thursday evening, January 18.
Sources said the memo was issued on January 2 seeking an explanation as to why she did not evaluate the answer properly. However, the teacher did not respond to the memo within the deadline of 15 days. "Angered with this, the HM went to the teacher's house and stuck the second memo at the door of her house seeking an explanation when the teacher was not at home," sources added.
Vijayalakshmi told The New Indian Express, "The headmistress issued a memo to me due to personal vendetta. However, I could not reply to the memo as I was on medical leave. Meanwhile, the headmistress along with the teachers came to my house and pasted the second memo at my door. My personal privacy has been violated."
Vijayalakshmi denied the headmistress' allegations and said she evaluated the answer script properly. When asked about it, headmistress G Logambal told TNIE that she did not evaluate students' answer scripts of Biology and she gave more marks to students.
"So, I issued a memo seeking an explanation. However, the teacher did not reply. She refused to receive a second memo from me. So, as per the norm, I pasted the second memo at her house. There is no violation of rules," Logambal said.
Setting a bad example?
A functionary of the Tamil Nadu High and High Secondary School Graduate Teachers Association, T Arulanandham, told TNIE that the school education department has set a bad example. "In case she had committed mistakes, the headmistress could have taken action through the higher officer. Sticking a memo on the door affects teachers personally. This is not the way to deal with the issue," Arulanandham said. He urged the Chief Educational Officer to stop such practice.
Chief Educational Officer R Balamurali told TNIE that he would look into the issue and added that the District Educational Officer is already inquiring into this matter.
