‘Teachers must not attend programmes during class hours’

Mangaluru: The SDMC Coordination Committee has submitted a memorandum to Madhu Bangarappa, minister of primary and secondary education, not to allow government school teachers to participate in any programme or meeting during working hours, as it was affecting academics in schools.
The committee submitted a memorandum to the minister on Saturday. According to Mohiuddin Kutty, president of the committee, teachers are misusing their office hours and attending stage programmes as chief guests, which is against the rules.
Kutty said that the committee had been observing for several years that government school teachers have been attending several functions or meetings during their working hours. “It is not related to the department of public instruction. There are instances where both block education officers are seated in the same programme. As per our survey, out of 900 schools in the district, there are teachers from 100 schools who are part of the some organisation, association, or trust. This includes associations related to schools as well. However, they are attending programmes of these associations during official working hours. In some schools, the entire academic role is given to guest or honorary teachers, while permanent teachers are busy with such programmes,” Kutty alleged in his memorandum, adding that all his allegations have been proven with supporting documents. “There are media reports, invitations, and photos to prove that teachers have attended such programmes during their working hours,” he said.
The School Development and Monitoring Committee has been complaining about this issue to officials, but no action has been taken so far. “Besides this, the teachers are trying to bring in politics within campus, due to their association with several groups,” Kutty highlighted in his memorandum. Besides, the government ordered that teachers not use cell phones during working hours in 2018. This order is not followed,” complained Kutty.
He added that minister Bangarappa considered the issue seriously, and has asked the committee members to meet him in Bengaluru to discuss it elaborately.