The Education Department’s reported decision to require 56 of the 77 recently promoted teachers to divide their working week between two schools is deeply concerning. Under the arrangement, the teachers will spend three days at the school to which they have been posted following their promotion and the remaining three days at their previous institution. These teachers were earlier teaching Classes IX and X and, following their promotion, have been assigned to teach Classes XI and XII. These are crucial years, particularly because students are preparing for Board examinations. At such a stage, continuity in teaching is essential. A teacher who is required to shuttle between two schools cannot provide the same level of attention and commitment to either institution. Students will be deprived of their regular teacher for almost half of the working week. This disruption can affect the completion of the syllabus, academic preparation and examination performance. The arrangement is also unfair to the teachers themselves. Promotion is not merely about an increase in salary but reasonable and workable conditions of service. The Education Department must therefore reconsider this decision in the larger interest of education.
ADELMO FERNANDES, Vasco
