Bengaluru: Private aided school teachers in the city got a relief after Primary and Secondary Education Minister N. Mahesh on Monday directed the education department to withdraw a circular sent to Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) asking them to withhold the salaries of teachers for June. The circular had cited poor academic performance of students in the recent SSLC exams for the move.
After MLCs and teachers met the minister on Monday, MLC Arun Shahapur told Deccan Chronicle that Mr Mahesh promised to take action after a comprehensive list of underperforming schools was prepared by the DDPIs and measures to improve the performance of such schools are decided. “These measures include organising special training sessions for teachers to ensure better results,” he said.
Last week, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education had sent out the circular to DDPIs in the city, asking them to prepare a list of teachers from schools which recorded poor results in the SSLC exam. Officials had said that the directive is the best way to make teachers fall in line and make them complete lesson plans as per schedule.
Private aided school teachers blamed the government for being inconsiderate towards them for a long time. “We are expected to do administrative duties more than teaching. It is humanly impossible to multitask at this level, though we make sure we deliver our maximum at classes. Teachers cannot be solely responsible for a student’s performance in exams,” a teacher said. Another teacher said that had the government gone ahead with the move, many teachers might have resigned or helped students indulge in exam malpractices to get better results. “It is good that the minister listened to our grievances and decided to take productive steps,” she said.
Various MLCs representing teachers’ constituencies had also decided to challenge the move, saying it had not been approved in the House.
