Question : Absence of Teachers

(a) whether the Government proposes incentivizing Government schools by providing performance bonus to teachers and principals;

(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the World Bank report which found that 25% of Government primary school teachers are absent from work;

(d) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to improve the performance of the teachers; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to promote e-learning as a remedy to the shortage of good teachers?

MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b): There is no scheme in this Ministry to give performance bonus to teachers and principals. However, there is a scheme of National Award to teachers to recognize good performance of teachers across the country. Further, Section 24 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mandates that a teacher appointed under sub-section (1) of the Section 23 shall perform the following duties, namely (a) maintain regularity
and punctuality in attending school and (b) complete entire curriculum within
specified time.

(c) & (d): The World Bank took up a research project in 2004 on teacher absenteeism in 6 countries, including India and conducted a survey in 3700 schools in 20 States. The report, inter alia, concluded that twenty-five per cent of teachers in Government primary schools remained absent from work on any given day, and only 50% of teachers present in schools were actually engaged in teaching.

The State/UT Governments monitor teachers’ attendance through School Management Committees/School Management Development Committees/Block Resource Centres/Clusters Resource Centres. States like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have initiated biometric attendance on pilot basis in their States.

(e): E-Pathshala was launched during the National Conference on ICT in School Education held on 7th November, 2015. It is a platform developed by National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for showcasing and disseminating all educational e-resources including textbooks, audio and video material, periodicals and a variety of other print and non-print materials. The platform addresses the dual challenge of reaching out to a diverse clientele and bridging the digital divide (geographical, socio-cultural and linguistic), offering comparable quality of e-contents and ensuring its free access at every time and every place. Students, teachers, educators and parents can access e-books through multiple technology platforms i.e. mobile phones and tablets and on web through laptops and desktops. Further, under Computer Aided Learning (CAL) component of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), States/UTs have been supported financially to promote e-learning of Science and Mathematics at Upper Primary level.

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