Question : Performance Bonus to Teachers

(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the World Bank report which found that 25% of government primary school teachers in India are absent from work;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has considered incentivising government schools by providing performance bonus to teachers and principals;
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government to improve teacher attendance and also promote e-learning to remedy the shortage of good teachers?

Answer given by the minister

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


(a) & (b) : The World Bank took up a research project on teacher absenteeism in 6 countries, including India in 2004 by conducting a survey in 3700 schools in 20 States. The report, inter alia, included 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.

(c) to (e) : There is no such scheme to give performance bonus to teachers and principals. However, there is a scheme for National Award to teachers to recognize good performance of teachers across the country.

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. The steps taken by the Central government to improve teachers’ attendance include, inter alia, monitoring teachers’ attendance through
School Management Committees/School Management Development Committees/Block Resource Centres/Clusters Resource Centres and by installing Bio-metric attendance system etc.

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.

*****

Download PDF Files