Teachers mark selfie attendance
VARANASI: The selfie is the calling card of this age. The self-portrait sometimes criticised as narcissistic has found a novel use – as a disciplinary tool in Uttar Pradesh.
Teachers at 140 governmentrun primary and upper primary schools in Naugarh area of Chandauli have been reporting for work on time after the district administration launched an “attendance-with-selfie” drive in the first week of February.
As soon as they get to school, teachers take a selfie with students and day’s newspaper and share it on a WhatsApp group called attendance with selfie.
“Attendance with a selfie has resulted in tremendous improvement in attendance at primary and junior schools across Naugarh block,” district magistrate Kumar Prashant told HT .
Faced with complaints of teachers playing truant in remote areas, Prashant roped in social activist Navin Krishna Rai to conduct a survey of primary schools in the Naugarh block.
“Many teachers were causal about attending schools in remote areas. Some teachers did not bother to take classes. The survey brought forth the stark reality of teachers’ attendance,” Rai told HT.
A basic shiksha adhikari (district education officer), Santosh Kumar Singh, was named the group superviser while the Naugarh education officer and a nyaya panchayat resource centre (NPRC) official were asked to monitor the attendance. “There has been a lot of improvement in the attendance of teachers after the drive,” Singh said.
Buoyed by the success, Kumar plans to extend the campaign to all 1,470 schools in the district by month-end and held a meeting on Monday with education officers.