E-Paper
Teachers on trial; City residents hail the move
All the teaching staff and non teaching staff will have to submit character certificates. The new order has been welcomed with open hands by Punekars and Mumbaikars
On May 25, the State education commissioner Suraj Mandare announced that starting academic year 2022 - 2023, all the teaching staff and non teaching staff will have to submit character certificates. This was done keeping in mind the unfortunate incidents that students succumb to from sexual harrasment to mental trauma due to certain staff. The new order has been welcomed with open hands by Punekars and Mumbaikars.
Kalyani Nagar’s Farida Sayyad, has a 14-year-old son in the ninth grade of Bishop’s co-ed School. “We are witnessing so many horrific crimes in schools across the globe, this initiative taken by the Government has come as a relief to us and many other parents like us. All we want is to provide our kids with the best of education but their safety is something we could never compromise on. The new guidelines issued by the Government will make sure that no parent has to stay in constant fear of the child’s safety while they are in school,” Sayyad shares.
Nallasopara’s Mahendra Shukla, who has a six-year-old son is absolutely elated with this move. “There have been heinous crimes that happen with kids in my locality. There was a kid who was kidnapped from my son’s school last year. Since then all of us have been quite paranoid. With this move, I feel a sense of relief has kicked in,” says the 32-year-old.
Rachana Valia, 41, mother of a 10-year-old, says, “Guru devo bhava. We treat our teachers, our gurus as gods. Our kids are in school for years and learn from their teachers. I would want someone with a good character to be the one who teaches them. We got a bonafide certificate from my son’s school saying he is a good student and is studying in the school, so I am all for this move.”
Lavina Bhansode who is the Principal at Late Ramchandra Bankar School, Hadapsar, believes this was the need of the hour. While she is yet to receive an official communication from the department, she adds, “Just recently there was an ugly case of sexual assault in a private school in our locality. So as a Principal I feel this will be good and safe for kids. Like I know a male teacher who was thrown out of a school because of one such case. However, he went to another school where people didn’t know him and his deeds. Now he could potentially repeat the offence in the school. With the character certificate, we probably can save kids from such teachers.”
Rahila Shaikh who teaches at a private school says, “Being a teacher myself, I believe that teachers are entrusted to mould the children’s lives so providing a character certificate will also gain the trust of parents for the school.”
“I won’t call it a character certificate but yes a recommendation certificate of sorts. We can’t judge anyone’s character. But yes, we can definitely recommend or not recommend someone. There have been instances lately where people of this noble profession have been involved in anti-social activities. To avoid this we must vouch for such a certificate. This shouldn’t even be a question as students’ future is at stake and teachers are a vital part of their lives,” says Seema Pathak, who has been a teacher for more than 15 years.
The character certificates will be provided by the cops to the school staff clearing that the concerned individual has no past or current cases pending against them.
A teacher from a private school under the conditions of anonymity mentions, “While I’m up for this verification it also makes me wonder does any other profession ask for character certificates? Crimes happen in every field, then it should be mandated for everyone to give character certificates. Also, what about private coaching classes and tuitions? Kids may not be safe there either.”
Thane based Jagdish Israni, 40, has been teaching for over two decades now, and he agrees that “getting certificates from cops is going to be a tedious task”. “While I’m okay with giving my certificates, the question comes to why do I need a character certificate. Does any other profession require a character certificate? But then the kind of times we are in, and the people we are dealing with, they will feel better and safe. This will help eliminate the criminals. But this may also have its own effects. I know a teacher who is going through a divorce, now in his case, his job can be at risk,” Israni opines.
Prajakta Shiledar believes just getting character certificates won’t cease the problem. “Why this has become important today?” the mother of two school going girls questions, adding that lack of communication between teacher and parent is the root cause. “Back when we were in school, our teachers and the staff( especially Maushi’s ) had a connection with us as well as our parents. Nowadays most of the schools only allow the parents to meet the teachers during the parent meeting day. If they are allowed to reach the teachers through messages, at least during certain hours, then the parents can know them better through conversations. When a teacher reaches a seniority position, asking for a criminal record is a bit challenging as it might be disturbing for them. Also, our system takes years to punish the culprit. Honestly, why ask for a criminal record in the education field? If it is going to take years to punish the culprit. This will not solve the prevailing issues of security,” Shiledar explains.
