NAGPUR: As monsoons approach and threaten to disrupt connectivity between villages in Bhamragarh taluka of Gadchiroli district, teachers of zilla parishad (ZP) schools will be asked to stay in the village where they are teaching. Sources in the education department say many teachers employed in remote village schools often commute to their home which maybe anywhere between 15km and 40km. When connectivity between villages is broken due to rains, students find themselves without teachers.
An official with the local education department there told TOI that even earlier teachers have been asked to get an accommodation in the same village. “But it is hard to follow through with that,” said the official. “They rent out a room in somebody’s house for emergency situation only. Most of the teachers prefer to ride their bike to and from as traffic is not an issue here at all,” he said.
Bhamragarh taluka is cut off from the rest of the district at least once every monsoon as rising waters submerge one or more road/bridges. “We can be cut off for a few hours to even days. A few years ago, there was massive flooding and traffic had stopped plying for a week or so. In such a situation you have students in schools who don’t have teachers as they are stuck on the other side,” said the official.
A letter reminding teachers to stay put in the village of their employment is expected next month.
But teachers say there is another side to this as well. A ZP schoolteacher, who did not wish to be identified, said he commutes weekly to his home village nearby. “It takes me around an hour or so. Earlier, I used to do this daily but now I go around two to three times a week. And on weekends why should I stay back because schools are closed anyway. Where I go after my school hours are over is nobody’s business. We also want to spend time with our family,” said the teacher.
While the education department has no issue with what teachers do after school hours, problem arises especially during monsoon. The official said, “Suppose on Sunday the teacher goes back home and on Monday morning we get heavy rains, then he won’t report for work. All we want is that students must not suffer because their teacher could not reach school.”
