Centralised evaluation system for school teachers on cards

Around 25 per cent teachers across the country do not attend schools on a regular basis, says a survey conducted by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.

The shocking revelation was made by Anil Swarup, Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy while addressing a seminar on "Creating a Robust School Education System as the Bedrock of New India", organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the city on Tuesday.

The Centre is going to adopt a new methodology to fix the accountability of teachers, especially those who were irregular in attending schools. The School Education Department at the centre has decided to distribute GPS enabled Tabs among the teachers so that a biometric registration can be done. The project would be implemented in Chhattisgarh in a pilot basis from August 1.

"A report says that around 25 per cent of teachers do not go to school. Software is being developed by the department to ensure that teachers attend school on a regular basis. GPS enabled Tabs will be distributed among teachers which will help in maintaining the attendance. The Tabs will hold a detailed data about the teachers," Swarup said.

He further added: "The teachers will be able to submit a leave application through the App and they will no longer be required to visit the department offices in various blocks for this. The project will be implemented in a pilot basis in Chattishgarh. It is yet to be seen how far the new project becomes successful."

It has already got a tremendous response as the states like Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan have expressed their interest in the project. It is up to the state governments whether they want to adopt the new system to ensure the teachers do not bunk classes, he maintained.

Swarup also said that action will be taken against various B.Ed colleges across the country who have not filed affidavit furnishing all the necessary information regarding admission of candidates and other details to the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) despite of repeated requests. Around 40 per cent of the B.Ed colleges in India who were not submitting documents relating to their functioning to the NCTE may be derecognized.

Instead of multiple examinations for teachers' recruitment in the country the Centre proposes a national level single eligibility test for the teachers to maintain the standard. He however said that it is up to the various state governments if they will recruit on the basis of the national level examination. He also felt the need of a central assessment for evaluating teachers.

Speaking on the "No Detention" policy, Swarup said: "Most of the states believe that something to be done on this issue. The Centre will not however impose any order on the state government. It is up to the state governments whether to mandate the policy.