Mumbai civic body suspends 20 school teachers for ‘bunking’ classes

Sixteen out of 20 teachers were suspended because they remained absent from the schools for three months to two years

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) education department suspended 20 municipal school teachers on Monday for remaining absent from the schools for up to two years. The civic body has initiated an inquiry into the allegations levelled against the suspended teachers.

Civic officials checked attendance records and cross-checking with the students of civic schools revealed there are another 50 teachers who are regular absentees. (Pic for representation)

An official from BMC said, “Sixteen out of 20 teachers were suspended because they remained absent from the schools for three months to two years. The rest were suspended for bunking lectures or not teaching students despite being present.”

Civic officials checked attendance records and cross-checking with the students of civic schools revealed there are another 50 teachers who are regular absentees. Action will be initiated against all of them, a civic official said.

The official added each of 20 cases have varied reasons for their suspension. For example, a teacher marked his attendance on the biometric system installed at a BMC office near his residence instead of the school he was supposed to teach at. The fraud came to the fore after the officials checked the location at which the teacher had punched in his attendance using the biometric system.

“We are now short of 20 teachers. But anyways their presence was negligible. If the inquiry proves their guilt, then we’ll holds hire 20 new teachers.