(a) whether the Government has considered incentivising Government schools by providing performance
bonus to teachers and principals;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) if not, the reasons therefor;
(d) whether the Government has taken cognisance of the World Bank report which found that 25%
of the Government primary schools teachers in India remain absent from work;
(e) if so, the details thereof; and
(f) the steps taken by the Government to improve teacher attendance?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. SHASHI THAROOR)
(a) to (c) No Madam, as teacher service conditions, service rules and terms of service are the subject matter of the concerned State/ UT, the issue of providing bonus to teachers and principals has not been considered at the Central level.
(d) to (f) A World Bank report on teacher absenteeism was based on a study in 6 countries done in 2002-03. Since then the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 has been enacted which prohibits deployment of teachers for any non-educational purposes other than decennial census, disaster relief and elections. The RTE Act has also laid down minimum instructional hours and working days for schools. The duties of teachers have also been laid down in the RTE Act.