UP govt puts off decision on digital attendance

Following protests by primary teachers over digital attendance, the UP government has decided to form an expert committee to listen to the problems and suggestions of teachers. Digital attendance will be kept suspended till further orders. A decision will be taken on the basis of the committee’s report.
This committee will listen to the problems and suggestions of teachers and submit its report. This committee will include officials of the Education Department, members of the Teachers’ Union and educationists, etc.
The committee will consider all the dimensions of education and give suggestions for improvement.
This committee will talk to all parties involved and listen to the teachers’

The CM had intervened
The Education Department had issued an order for teachers’ digital attendance starting from July 8. Since then, teachers have been opposing this decision. They were attending school while wearing black armbands as a form of protest. After school, they were also holding sit-ins and demonstrations. During this period, they launched a signature campaign on social media. Meanwhile, several Opposition parties joined the teachers on this issue and demanded that the government retract the decision.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath intervened twice and instructed the officials to find a solution through discussions.

The outcome
Following the Chief Minister’s orders, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh convened a meeting on Tuesday. This meeting included Additional Chief Secretary for Secondary Education Deepak Kumar, Principal Secretary for Basic Education MKS Sundaram, DG School Education Kanchan Verma, President of the Primary Teachers’ Association Nidesh Chandra Sharma, President of the Women’s Teachers’ Association Sulochana Maurya, Executive Member Preeti Singh, and several representatives from teachers’ organizations.

Why were the teachers protesting?
Teachers were saying that they work in remote areas where basic schools are located. They often travel 40-50 kilometers to reach using their own resources. In such situations, delays can occur due to traffic jams or other reasons. Additionally, many schools are facing water-logging issues after the rains. There are also network issues. Therefore, marking attendance at a fixed time is not easy.
Attendance must also be recorded before leaving for vacation. If teachers have to go somewhere unexpectedly, it can be difficult. They also need to record students’ attendance and mid-day meal data. This consumes a lot of time that could otherwise be spent on teaching. Basic teachers receive 14 casual leaves per year, without the benefit of earned leave.
There is a provision for one year of medical leave during the entire job. If a teacher arrives late, half a leave or one casual leave can be deducted for being three days late. According to the arrangement made by the department, direct wages will be deducted for arriving late. They have objected to this arrangement without understanding these difficulties.