E-Paper
70% of school teachers have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine
PUNE As the new academic year begins, teachers and principals of schools in the city believe that at least 70 per cent of staff have taken the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine
PUNE As the new academic year begins, teachers and principals of schools in the city believe that at least 70 per cent of staff have taken the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
As per a notification issued by the Education department on Tuesday, 50 per cent offline attendance of teachers in schools is compulsory, whereas schools will continue online classes for students.
The notification makes it mandatory for teachers of Class 1 to Class 9 to register a 50 per cent attendance in school. Teachers of Class 10 to Class 12 have to have 100 per cent in-person attendance.
D G Jagtap, director of Primary, Secondary and Higher Education, in an official statement said that because of the evaluation and results of Class 10 and Class 12 which are still to be declared, “Teachers and staff for Class 10 and Class 12 are required to come to school to help evaluate the students as soon as possible.”
He added that the rest of the classes will continue online as per directives by the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).
Harishchandra Gaikwad, president, Pune district principals’ association, said that 70 per cent of teachers in rural parts of the district have got either one or both jabs.
“However, there are many teachers in the city who have not received the vaccination as frontline workers (FLW),” said Gaikwad.
Medha Sinnarkar, principal of Laxmanrao Apte Prashala, said that teachers at the school have at least got their first jabs.
“As Class 10 and Class 12 teachers have to have 100 per cent attendance, many have got at least the first jab. Many have also completed both the doses,” said Sinnarkar.
Rajendra Singh, president of the Independent English Medium School Association (IESA), said that teachers should be vaccinated as a priority.
“We had approached authorities from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to vaccinate teachers from private schools on priority. However, only a few got the jabs,” said Singh.
