Teachers of government schools in two districts of Bihar have been asked to make rounds of their respective wards and panchayat committee areas to stop people from defecating in the open. The teachers have protested against the move and said it was an “insult” to their job.
The state government order issued recently for Muzaffarpur and Aurangabad districts — which are to be declared as ODF (open defecation-free) by December 31 — said that teachers should make rounds of their areas in the mornings and evenings and take pictures on their mobiles to shame the offenders. The administration has created committees with four to five teachers in each of these districts to monitor the mission’s progress. Similar committees are planned in other districts to create awareness.
“Teachers are known for their intellect and they could convince people for ODF in a much better way. Since Swachhta Abhiyan is a national mission everybody should take part in it. If teachers are being asked to play their role in it and if it doesn’t hamper their school job, I think there is nothing wrong in it,” state education minister Krishnanadan Prasad Verma told reporters.
But teachers in both the districts have expressed their resentment against the government’s decision. “It is an insult to our teaching job. Can you imagine what people will say if you go to them while they are defecating in the open and take their pictures?” asked Ramnandan Sharma, a school teacher in Aurangabad, over phone.
“How many government duties are we expected to do? When elections come we are the first one to be called, when exams are held we are called in, for government’s social campaigns we are called, for conducting census, for pulse polio campaign, for mid-day meals...,” complained another teacher.
Bihar Secondary Teachers’ Association has urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar “not to add to the long list of non-academic work that they are supposed to do.” The letter has cited Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar’s speech in the Rajya Sabha about teachers being overburdened with non-teaching duties.
“Teachers are already struggling with registration of students for board exams these days. Asking them to stop open defection in their areas is an insult to their profession,” said Shatrughan Prasad Singh, general secretary of Bihar Teachers’ Association and a former MP, requesting the chief minister to withdraw the order.
