Govt. school teachers can’t give tuitions after class: HC
CHENNAI, APRIL 10, 2019 00:00 IST
Education dept. told to create toll-free number for students to lodge complaints
The Madras High Court has directed the School Education Department to provide a toll-free telephone number to enable students, parents and others to lodge complaints regarding indiscipline, illegal activities, irregularities and sexual harassment by teachers in general, apart from conduct of private tuitions/tutorial classes by government teachers in particular.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam ordered that the toll-free phone number should be created within eight weeks and publicised well by displaying them in the notice boards of all schools across the State. He also ordered that complaints received through the toll-free number should be acted upon by officials concerned within 24 hours.
The order was passed after holding that government schoolteachers were not entitled to take tuitions or tutorial classes even after class hours and during holidays since it amounts to indulging in a ‘private trade or business’, which had been termed as a misconduct under the service rules applicable to government servants.
The judge said: “It is most unfortunate to state that teachers are soliciting students to join tuition classes either at their homes or in other places organised by such teachers.
The students, after school hours, are sometimes forced to attend the tuition classes. Taking of tuition after school hours is also a misconduct.
“A public servant must show devotion to his duty. The profession of teaching is a noble one and teachers are bound to maintain honesty, integrity and clean life both inside as well as outside the school. Contrarily, these teachers are engaged in trade and business by conducting tuitions/tutorial classes.”
Stating that a decent salary was being paid to government school teachers from the tax payers’ money, the judge said they owe a high moral duty towards society. Nevertheless, many were indulging in undesirable activities thereby degrading the nobility attached to the profession, he lamented.
Justice Subramaniam also took note of growing instances of school students being subjected to sexual harassment by teachers. “Even young children are not spared. Such instances are frequently published in the media.
However, the authorities are not showing any sensitiveness towards this issue. They are only pretending to be sensitive,” he said.
Therefore, there was an imminent necessity to create a mechanism where parents and others could have a vigil over the activities of schoolteachers and report them to the authorities concerned, he said.
The orders were passed on a writ petition filed by headmaster R. Renganathan of Coimbatore, challenging his transfer from the Corporation S.R.P. Ammani Ammal Government Higher Secondary School at R.S. Puram to the Corporation Higher Secondary School at Selvapuram situated at a distance of about two km.
Though the transfer order had stated that it had been passed on administrative grounds, the judge found that it had been passed at the request of M. Mallika, headmistress of Selvapuram school, who wanted to get transferred to the school at R.S. Puram. He deprecated the Corporation Commissioner for mentioning a false reason in the transfer order.
After dismissing the writ petition, he directed both the petitioner and Ms. Mallika to plant 50 saplings on the school campus where they were serving and report compliance to the Corporation Commissioner who, in turn, was ordered to forward a report to the Registrar General of the High Court.
CHENNAI, APRIL 10, 2019 00:00 IST
Education dept. told to create toll-free number for students to lodge complaints
The Madras High Court has directed the School Education Department to provide a toll-free telephone number to enable students, parents and others to lodge complaints regarding indiscipline, illegal activities, irregularities and sexual harassment by teachers in general, apart from conduct of private tuitions/tutorial classes by government teachers in particular.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam ordered that the toll-free phone number should be created within eight weeks and publicised well by displaying them in the notice boards of all schools across the State. He also ordered that complaints received through the toll-free number should be acted upon by officials concerned within 24 hours.
The order was passed after holding that government schoolteachers were not entitled to take tuitions or tutorial classes even after class hours and during holidays since it amounts to indulging in a ‘private trade or business’, which had been termed as a misconduct under the service rules applicable to government servants.
The judge said: “It is most unfortunate to state that teachers are soliciting students to join tuition classes either at their homes or in other places organised by such teachers.
The students, after school hours, are sometimes forced to attend the tuition classes. Taking of tuition after school hours is also a misconduct.
“A public servant must show devotion to his duty. The profession of teaching is a noble one and teachers are bound to maintain honesty, integrity and clean life both inside as well as outside the school. Contrarily, these teachers are engaged in trade and business by conducting tuitions/tutorial classes.”
Stating that a decent salary was being paid to government school teachers from the tax payers’ money, the judge said they owe a high moral duty towards society. Nevertheless, many were indulging in undesirable activities thereby degrading the nobility attached to the profession, he lamented.
Justice Subramaniam also took note of growing instances of school students being subjected to sexual harassment by teachers. “Even young children are not spared. Such instances are frequently published in the media.
However, the authorities are not showing any sensitiveness towards this issue. They are only pretending to be sensitive,” he said.
Therefore, there was an imminent necessity to create a mechanism where parents and others could have a vigil over the activities of schoolteachers and report them to the authorities concerned, he said.
The orders were passed on a writ petition filed by headmaster R. Renganathan of Coimbatore, challenging his transfer from the Corporation S.R.P. Ammani Ammal Government Higher Secondary School at R.S. Puram to the Corporation Higher Secondary School at Selvapuram situated at a distance of about two km.
Though the transfer order had stated that it had been passed on administrative grounds, the judge found that it had been passed at the request of M. Mallika, headmistress of Selvapuram school, who wanted to get transferred to the school at R.S. Puram. He deprecated the Corporation Commissioner for mentioning a false reason in the transfer order.
After dismissing the writ petition, he directed both the petitioner and Ms. Mallika to plant 50 saplings on the school campus where they were serving and report compliance to the Corporation Commissioner who, in turn, was ordered to forward a report to the Registrar General of the High Court.
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