Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The state government is getting stricter regarding the use of the Shiksha Setu app, and the issue of a large number of teachers not registering their attendance on it has become a cause for concern. Recently, it was noticed that a total of 4907 teachers have been absent for a long time. An investigation into the matter has been ordered, and till the probe is over, the salaries of the absent teachers will be kept on hold.
Regarding this issue, the state government's Department of School Education has written to all Additional District Commissioners (Education) to physically verify the existence of the 4907 teachers remaining absent on the Shiksha Setu, with the help of the Inspector of Schools and District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) concerned, and submit a report of absence with reasons.
The letter also states that the salaries of the absent teachers will be kept in abeyance until the matter is resolved after the submission of reports.
It should be mentioned here that the absent teachers in different districts are: Baksa--162, Barpeta--124, Biswanath--135, Bongaigaon--58, Cachar--171, Charaideo--47, Chirang--43, Darrang--172, Dhemaji--71, Dhubri--286, Dibrugarh--158, Dima-Hasao--197, Goalpara-- 245, Golaghat--193, Hailakandi--98, Hojai--46, Jorhat--160, Kamrup (M)-- 294, Kamrup--193, Karbi Anglong--153, Karimganj--202, Kokrajhar--200, Lakhimpur--148, Majuli--20, Morigaon--82,Nagaon--259, Nalbari--106, Sibsagar--120, Sonitpur--176, South Salmara-Mankachar--49, Tinsukia--424, Udalguri--65, and West Karbi Anglong--50. The total of all absent teachers comes to 4907.
There are 2,36,377 school teachers registered on Shiksha Setu. Registering the in-time and out-time of the teachers on the app has been mandatory since April 1. It was also stated that a certain period of casual leave will be deducted if a teacher fails to arrive at the school on time for two days in a row.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu expressed his views on the issue of absent teachers, saying, "These 4907 teachers have not given their attendance since the day they enrolled themselves on Shiksha Setu. It is necessary to determine whether these teachers are performing their duty or not. For this purpose, I have ordered a probe into the disappearance of the teachers. If they have not been performing their duties, action will be taken against them."
Pegu said that no questions are being asked for teachers who have provided attendance for even one day. We are only seeking clarification on the teachers who have not provided attendance for a single day. After completing the probe into the zero-attendance teachers, we will take up the matter of those with less than 10% attendance, then proceed with those with 20%, and so on. Around 70% of teachers provide regular attendance in the schools and are conducting classes. There are around 15% to 20% of teachers who are 'irregular' and the zero-attendance teachers are included under this section of teachers.
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