UP Government Vs Sarkari Teachers: Know Why are Teachers on Road?

The Uttar Pradesh administration has decided to pause the implementation of the online attendance system for two months following widespread protests from government school teachers across the state. 

Principal of Basic Education, MK Shanmuga Sundaram, announced on Tuesday that an expert committee will be formed to address and investigate the teachers' concerns over the next two months.

What is the Digital Attendance System?

The primary education department of Uttar Pradesh has recently introduced a new system requiring teachers to record their attendance, including their location, 15 minutes before classes start. 

According to the new regulations, teachers must arrive by 7:30 in the morning and log their attendance between 7:45 and 8 am, just before the beginning of lessons. 

Government Teachers on the Road

Thousands of government elementary school teachers and Shiksha Mitra of Uttar Pradesh are demonstrating against the plan to provide them access to a digital attendance system. The protest gradually intensified as teachers took to the streets all across the state.

Social media is also witnessing a surge of street agitation, with the hashtag #boycottonlineattendance becoming popular on microblogging site X. There are already more than 500,000 postings using the hashtag.

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Why are Teachers Against this New Rule?

According to the leader of the teacher’s side, Vipin Bihari, teachers are not in opposition to the new online attendance system. However, they do want some changes in the rules. 

• The teachers who are protesting argue that all state government offices should be subjected to similar regulations. 
• The teachers also cited the poor network connectivity in several rural regions, where marking attendance online would prove to be hard.
• Teachers have made several demands, including the relaxation of online attendance policies during bad weather conditions or when they are required to engage in departmental events
• They also have put forward a demand for thirty days of earned leave per year, similar to that of state employees, and the availability of half-day and compensatory leave.

“Teachers are not eligible for either earned leave (EL) or casual leave (CL). Teachers should therefore receive 30 days of EL and 14 days of half CL,” stated one of the protesting teachers. "The government can eliminate the June leave.”

What is the Current Status?

Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sharma, President of the UP Primary Teachers Association, announced that the government has decided to temporarily postpone the implementation of digital attendance for two months. 

"A committee will be formed to address the issues of teachers and the digital attendance system. This committee will include education experts, teacher representatives, and officials," he said.

Earlier, despite allowing teachers to mark their attendance up to 30 minutes late with a valid reason, the basic education department's efforts failed to calm the ongoing protests.

Teachers' requests have received backing from both the Samajwadi Party and Congress, who have pledged to bring them up in the legislative assembly.

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