KV goes online to find matrimonial match for teachers
NEW DELHI: Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) are known across India for their stellar results and a wide network of good, inexpensive schools. But away from the classroom, the teachers are busy playing cupid.
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) — which looks after the schools — runs a popular matrimonial service on its website that gives details of more than 100 unmarried teachers who wish to find partners within the so-called KV family.
The link to the matrimonial service — found on the right side of the bottom panel of the website — lists the names, addresses, designations, email ids, dates of birth and even the phone numbers of prospective brides and grooms.
“It is a good initiative as it’s free of cost and there are a number of KV teachers who want to get married to a teacher as they have similar working hours,” said a KV teacher from Maharashtra who uploaded his details online.
The scheme was started in 2012 to help some of the 55,000 teachers across 1,128 Kendriya Vidyalaya schools to find each other, meet and possibly get married. Officials say the teachers provided their details voluntarily.
The KVS is now forming a committee for review and take a call on whether to continue with the scheme and ways to improve it.
“We are forming a committee which will review whether to continue with this scheme. The information uploaded on the website has to come through the principal of the school. We don’t entertain applications otherwise for safety,” said UN Khaware, additional commissioner (academics), KVS.
The level of details available is no less than a professionally run matrimonial website. What’s better, teachers say, is that the stamp of the government-run KVS ensures safety and no threat of stalkers or abusive calls.
“I wanted to get married to someone from the same field. It helps to have someone who has similar timings. I posted my information and got a few calls but it didn’t work out. But it is a good platform,” said Nikhil Kesharwani, a music teacher in KV.
But like all matrimonial services, this one too is not without glitches. Far too often, teachers find that a few phone calls don’t lead to anything concrete.
“I got a number of calls after I posted my information online and met a few of them too. But then my family found a girl and I got married to her,” said a KV teacher who had provided his information on the website.
And just as with any other government service, many others complain that the data is not up-to-date and is seldom updated. Phone numbers, especially, aren’t in use by the person against whose name it is listed, causing many blushes to prospective suitors.
“I have been getting calls regarding a KV school teacher. The person must have got transferred and changed his number without updating it on the website,” said a woman getting calls for the past two years regarding match-making.
Others say the organisation didn’t remove their information even after their marriage.
“Details of unmarried teachers were put online but I got calls after I got married. I have given two applications to remove my information from the website now,” said a KV teacher who provided his information a few years ago when he was posted in Gujarat.