New lessons to be learnt Guwahati, Aug 13 : Lessons beyond the classroom may cost Assam college teachers their promotion, even salary, with Dispur drawing up a list of punitive measures against those who defy a ban on private tuition.
An Assam government official told The Telegraph that the government was working on the nature of penalties and would enforce them within the current academic year.
He said a mere ban or order would do little to contain the thriving practice of private tuition.
“Till date, the education department is in a dilemma regarding what can be done against teachers involved in private tuition. So the government wants to be categorical about penalties against those opening coaching institutes, supplying notes and going to students’ homes. Without being clear about the penalties, the issue of preventing private tuition remains vague. Officials or authorities concerned also find it difficult to take action against the erring teachers, being ignorant about the punitive provisions,” the official said.
The education department issued a circular on June 10 to all colleges and universities in the state seeking information about teachers giving lessons in private.
He said the circular would be meaningless without provisions for punitive measures.
“Education minister Gautam Bora has taken a serious note on the increasing reports of college teachers being involved in private tuition. With the government ready to de-link higher secondary classes from degree colleges, Bora wants teachers to devote time to ensure excellence in higher education rather than provide private tuition,” the official said.
The Assam College Teachers’ Association has extended support to the government in working out the penalties.
There are around 127,000 teachers in the state’s 189 provincialised colleges, five government colleges and 140 non-deficit colleges.
The number of teachers in Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University is around 700.
The general secretary of the association, Biswajit Bhuyan, said even though he does not want to generalise, there are reports that some teachers are providing tuition in private.
“Such reports have brought a bad name to this noble profession. The association wants punitive action against the erring teachers to end the controversy over tuition which is harming the education system,” Bhuyan said.
A teacher of a leading college in the city, however, said teachers cannot be held solely responsible for private tuition.
“In this age of cut-throat competition, every parent wants their children to get individual attention and hence send them to teachers for private tuition. On several occasions, teachers are requested repeatedly by parents as well as students for tuition,” he said.
The government, on its part, is doing away with the system of manual system of attendance in colleges.
“A modern attendance mechanism will be introduced to automatically register arrival and departure timings of teachers at colleges. Work is under way at Nagaon College and Sonapur College on a system which will ensure that teachers do not bunk classes for personal work,” the official said.
The government will also constitute a high-powered committee comprising legal experts, bureaucrats, teachers and academicians to take decisions on imposing penalties on teachers involved in private tuition.
The committee will inquire and verify such allegations.
“The committee will ensure that no innocent teacher is victimised by vested interest groups. There is a good number of teachers who do not support private tuition,” a source said.
New lessons to be learnt Guwahati, Aug 13 : Lessons beyond the classroom may cost Assam college teachers their promotion, even salary, with Dispur drawing up a list of punitive measures against those who defy a ban on private tuition.
An Assam government official told The Telegraph that the government was working on the nature of penalties and would enforce them within the current academic year.
He said a mere ban or order would do little to contain the thriving practice of private tuition.
“Till date, the education department is in a dilemma regarding what can be done against teachers involved in private tuition. So the government wants to be categorical about penalties against those opening coaching institutes, supplying notes and going to students’ homes. Without being clear about the penalties, the issue of preventing private tuition remains vague. Officials or authorities concerned also find it difficult to take action against the erring teachers, being ignorant about the punitive provisions,” the official said.
The education department issued a circular on June 10 to all colleges and universities in the state seeking information about teachers giving lessons in private.
He said the circular would be meaningless without provisions for punitive measures.
“Education minister Gautam Bora has taken a serious note on the increasing reports of college teachers being involved in private tuition. With the government ready to de-link higher secondary classes from degree colleges, Bora wants teachers to devote time to ensure excellence in higher education rather than provide private tuition,” the official said.
The Assam College Teachers’ Association has extended support to the government in working out the penalties.
There are around 127,000 teachers in the state’s 189 provincialised colleges, five government colleges and 140 non-deficit colleges.
The number of teachers in Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University is around 700.
The general secretary of the association, Biswajit Bhuyan, said even though he does not want to generalise, there are reports that some teachers are providing tuition in private.
“Such reports have brought a bad name to this noble profession. The association wants punitive action against the erring teachers to end the controversy over tuition which is harming the education system,” Bhuyan said.
A teacher of a leading college in the city, however, said teachers cannot be held solely responsible for private tuition.
“In this age of cut-throat competition, every parent wants their children to get individual attention and hence send them to teachers for private tuition. On several occasions, teachers are requested repeatedly by parents as well as students for tuition,” he said.
The government, on its part, is doing away with the system of manual system of attendance in colleges.
“A modern attendance mechanism will be introduced to automatically register arrival and departure timings of teachers at colleges. Work is under way at Nagaon College and Sonapur College on a system which will ensure that teachers do not bunk classes for personal work,” the official said.
The government will also constitute a high-powered committee comprising legal experts, bureaucrats, teachers and academicians to take decisions on imposing penalties on teachers involved in private tuition.
The committee will inquire and verify such allegations.
“The committee will ensure that no innocent teacher is victimised by vested interest groups. There is a good number of teachers who do not support private tuition,” a source said.
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