Edu dept passes diktat mandating teachers to attend R-Day event, staff calls it brown-nosing to Singla

The district education department also directed teachers to submit a copy of their attendance at the DC’s office and directed them to report at the venue by 8.30am

The district education department on Saturday passed a diktat making it mandatory for teachers to attend a Republic Day event slated to be held at Yadavindra Stadium. Education minister Vijay Inder Singla will be unfurling the tricolour in the stadium on Sunday. However, the order did not go down well with many staff members.

HT Image

The district education department also directed teachers to submit a copy of their attendance at the DC’s office and directed them to report at the venue by 8.30am. In addition to the diktat, the department has also appointed at least one nodal officer in each block to ensure teachers’ presence at the venue.

The teachers, however, called the diktat a blatant attempt at brown-nosing the minister.

The district education officers of primary and secondary education have sent an order to school heads asking them to be present at the function along with their staff. The teachers posted in schools in Rajpura, Nabha, Samana and Patran have been exempted.

A second order reads, “Attendance of teachers will be noted at the venue and a copy of attendance should be submitted at DC office,”

A teacher, requesting anonymity, said, “This is happening for the first time. It is an attempt to muster a gathering to please the minister. I have been in the service since 2011 but have never seen such strictness for making teachers attend an event.”

Another teacher from Shutrana said, “I will have to travel over 70km in dense fog to show my presence. The authorities want to remain on the ministers’ good side, which is why they are forcing us to attend the function. If I were assigned a duty, I would have been glad to reach the venue.”

Amarjeet Singh, DEO, primary, said, “Since a minister of our department is going to unfurl the tricolour and deliver an address. It is obvious that the teacher should be present on the venue.”

Kalbushan Singh Bajwa, DEO, secondary, said, “We are jointly celebrating Republic Day at a district-level. That’s about it.”