Chandigarh govt teachers detest message to join schools after order to shut schools

Some teachers may face issues with conducting online classes so they have been asked to come, an official from the Chandigarh education department said

After the UT administration declared that schools will remain closed till further orders from Monday (January 10) onwards and the district education officer (DEO) further issued an order on the same lines, government teachers are crying hoarse as they have been asked to take online classes from school.

On Saturday, a Whatsapp message was sent by the Chandigarh DEO to the heads of all government schools, asking teaching and non-teaching staff to be present in schools from Monday. (REUTERS)

After the UT war room meeting on Thursday, it was declared that all educational institutions, including schools, colleges and coaching centres, will remain closed and they will maintain the academic schedule through online teaching. The DEO also issued an order on Friday endorsing the same. However on Saturday, a Whatsapp message was sent by the DEO to the heads of all government schools, asking teaching and non-teaching staff to be present in schools from Monday.

The fresh order has left the teachers confused. The UT Cadre Educational Employees’ Union has also written to the UT education department regarding this. “Teachers don’t mind coming to schools but the 50% staff criteria that is being followed in other government offices must also apply to schools. We all have families and are also concerned about the rising Covid cases in the tricity,” said president of the union Swarn Singh Kamboj.

Another teacher, on the condition of anonymity, said, “The DEO had already issued an order regarding closure of schools on Friday. The condition for teachers should have been there. Communicating such instructions through informal channels leads to confusion.”

Meanwhile, director school education (DSE) Palika Arora confirmed that teachers will have to start coming to school from Monday. Another senior official of the department said, “Some teachers may face issues with conducting online classes so they have been asked to come. The number of teachers is not less and they can maintain social distancing in schools. During the second wave also, teachers took online classes from schools.”

Private schools are also likely to follow this model. President of the Independent School Association and chairman of Vivek High School, HS Mamik, said, “Currently, we are closed for winter vacations but once we open, we will also call teachers to school for online classes.” He added that teachers will be asked to come to school two-to-three times a week as it’s easy to monitor the classes this way and adjustments can be made in case the Covid situation of the city gets worse.