Gurugram teachers raise apprehensions about reporting to work

With coronavirus cases reaching schools, fear and anxiety are growing among members of the teaching community, who have been reporting to work regularly since the first week of June.

Around 90% of the staff at Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 4/7 remained absent on Thursday after a Maths teacher tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Tuesday evening. Panic-stricken teachers chose to stay away from the school on Thursday despite the whole campus being sanitised on Wednesday.

Most teachers said that expecting teachers to report to work didn’t make much sense since children were not coming to school and online classes were already being conducted from home without any hindrances. (Ravi Kumar/HT file photo. Representative image)

A diabetic patient, the affected teacher had been reporting to the school for work until last Friday and did not display any symptoms of the disease. “The affected individual did not display any symptoms. If he had displayed symptoms, people would have been extra cautious. With the whole staff reporting to work, interaction with each other is unavoidable and teachers now fear that they might have been infected. It is a scary situation. Teachers have been asked to report to work as per the routine but there is a lack of confidence especially since many tasks can be carried out from home,” said the teacher, who has also applied for a casual leave.

Suman Sharma, school principal, said staff members who were in close contact with the affected teacher had been asked to give a written notice with details about the interaction and work from home till Saturday. “I have been receiving calls from many teachers asking for leave since a teacher from our school tested positive. Around 90% of the staff remained absent on Thursday, with most opting for casual leave,” said Sharma, adding said that this was a matter of concern since the department’s rules did not allow more than 20% of staff availing casual leave at the same time. This is the second Covid-19 case that has been reported from a government school in the district. Last week, a history teacher at the Government Senior Secondary School in Bhondsi had also tested positive.

With coronavirus cases reaching schools, fear and anxiety are growing among members of the teaching community, who have been reporting to work regularly since the first week of June. Most teachers said that expecting teachers to report to work didn’t make much sense since children were not coming to school and online classes were already being conducted from home without any hindrances.

Earlier in May, school principals and other officials who were needed for completion of administrative work had been asked to report to school. A fresh order issued by the department of education on June 6, however, directed the principals to ensure that all teachers are back at work and have regular attendance. Since then, schools have been operating at a 100% workforce.

Suman Sharma, principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 4/7, said, “Since June 6, we have been calling the entire staff to work. While we are abiding by physical distancing norms, with a workforce of about 100 people, some sort of bare minimum interaction does take place while marking the attendance. Many teachers have requested that they be allowed to work from home. But work has to continue in schools as we are bound by the directives,” said Sharma.

Geeta Arya, principal, Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School, said that some teachers were travelling from other districts and even from neighbouring cities, such as Delhi, to report to work. “Many teachers come from places as far as Rewari and Delhi. While there is a risk of transmission, they are also facing an additional financial burden of transportation. Most of them are spending five times the normal costs due to the lack of public transport,” said Arya.

Manjubala, a government school English teacher, said that there was no logic behind calling teachers to school on a daily basis, when most of the learning had shifted online. “We stay in school from 6 in the morning till 12:30 pm. After school hours, we are constantly in touch with students for classes since they access mobile phones at different times. Most of the work that we do at school can be done remotely,” said Manjubala.

Another government school principal, who did not wish to be named, said that teachers with cold, cough, and flu — which might be indicators of Covid — were also reporting to work. “It is difficult to make out if people are suffering from Covid-19 or seasonal flu. Since it takes time to get tested, some of them continue to visit the school fearing action,” said the principal. She added that indirect pressure was being exerted on teachers to appear for work. “Information about education officers inspecting schools through surprise visits is shared on official WhatsApp group by seniors. They keep telling us about inquiry being initiated against missing teachers in other districts. Along with anxiety around staying safe, there is performance pressure too,” said the principal.

Last week, the Haryana Lecturers Association had also raised objections to 100% staff being called to schools. Ashok Thakran, district head, Haryana School Lecturers Association, said that calling all teaches to school was not needed when their duties could be fulfilled remotely. “Children are not coming to school. In their absence, teachers will be largely idle at work and are bound to interact with each other. People are also travelling from Delhi and other areas which increases the risk of transmission,” said Thakran.

Indu Boken, district education officer, said that the department was complying with directions that had been issued by the government. “We cannot take decisions regarding the attendance of teachers at the district level. These decisions are taken at the directorate level and need to be complied with,” said Boken, adding that apart from conducting online classes, teachers were also required in school for various other works such as dispersal of mid-day meals, book distribution, and maintenance of accounts.

Boken said that the district administration had already given some relaxations to schools and teachers. “In schools that are in containment zones, teachers can be called as per a roster or as per need. Teachers who live in containment zones or are suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and others can also work from home,” said Boken.