DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand schools have resented education minister Arvind Pandey’s directive to paste details of teachers including their photos and mobile numbers on school notice boards. In a meeting attended by heads of 38 schools who are part of the Principals Progressive Schools’ Association (PPSA), many schools said that female unmarried teachers in particular are not comfortable with their photos and mobile numbers being put up on display as it may lead to their harassment by miscreants.
Elaborating on the misgivings expressed by the schools, Prem Kashyap, president, PPSA told TOI, “The apprehension of female teachers is justified since they may be unnecessarily troubled if their phone numbers are made public. Also, we have at least three parent-teacher meetings yearly, so parents are in regular contact with teachers and know them personally. Besides, we have already given the requisite details of all teachers to the education department as well as CBSE.”
The education minister had issued the directive to all schools in the state — government as well as private — on September 17 and the deadline given for implementing the measures was September 27. However, in another directive on September 18, the education department had clarified that “pasting of profile details of teachers should be done while taking care of their dignity.”
