45% of students and 21% of teachers remain absent: Shiksha Setu

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The regular absence of students, teachers, and non-teaching staff at schools across the state has sent alarm bells ringing in the Education Department.

The issue of up to 21% absence among teachers, up to 45% among students, and up to 24% among non-teaching staff, on average, in the state’s schools, as revealed from data uploaded on the Shiksha Setu portal of the Education Department, has raised some serious concerns.

It should be mentioned here that the total enrolment of students in schools is 47,21,263, the total number of teachers is 2,12,028 and that of non-teaching staff is 21,977.

The department checked the attendance of students, teachers, and staff in schools on random dates to understand the gravity of the problem. It was found that, as of Saturday, a total of 21,34,220 or 45% of students remained absent, along with 45,836 or 21.6% of teachers and 5,427 or 24% of non-teaching staff.

Then, the attendance on October 31 was checked next, and it was found that a total of 20,36,075 or 43% of students remained absent, while 45,604 or 21% of teachers and 5,419 or 24% of the non-teaching staff were also absent that day. On a daily basis, it was found that 38 to 45 percent of students and 10 to 21 percent of teachers generally remained absent.

There were even students who remained absent for a week at a stretch.

As of November 3, a total of 7,88,949 students were found absent for more than one week, while on November 4, the number was 12,63,940, and on October 31, the figure was 17,22,058.

From the gathered data, it was evident that more than 10 lakh students were thus absent from school for more than one week continuously, on average.

The startling revelations come at a time when the National Education Policy (NEP) is being implemented in the state and the school rule book is being brought into force. The facts and figures are alarming everyone connected with the school education policy.

Another fact emerged from the data in the U-DISE report, which is the high number of school dropouts in the state. It was found that a large number of students quit school after failing in Class VII, VIII, or IX.

In Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings under the education department, it was advised that the issue related to the high number of school dropouts needs to be addressed and checked.

The school rule book also states that, among the duties of the teachers, they have to report the absence of a student to the guardian or parent and the school management committee in the case of a long-term absence. The book also says that teachers have to attend classes regularly for the full duration. They are also instructed to maintain the teacher’s diary.

It was also mandated that parent-teacher-school management committee meetings be held regularly.

An education department official said, “Through the Shiksha Setu portal, many issues have come to light. Strict action against defaulters should be taken. The focus is now on student-teacher absence, and they should be forced to attend to their classes or duties regularly.”

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