Teachers ask Maharashtra education department to remove 50 per cent attendance rule

The teachers in Mumbai are now urging the education department to cancel the rule mandating 50 per cent of attendance for them once schools reopen.

This comes after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared that the schools in the city shall remain shut till December 31. The teachers, in their argument, have stated that since they are already taking classes online from the month of June, the new rule mandating attendance is not convenient.

According to the state education department’s standard operating procedures (SOPs), teachers from all schools, government, aided or private, in the state can be called to the school for work related to online learning or other academic work. However, the schools need to follow the policy of “staying home if unwell” for teachers who are not feeling well and especially those who have comorbidities or are above the age of 50 years, as per reports.

Earlier on Friday, November 20, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal had stated that schools in Mumbai are to remain shut till December 31, 2020. This development comes days after the Delhi government announced all schools to remain shut in view of the COVID-19 situation. However, schools in other parts of Maharashtra can reopen on November 23, as directed by the state government.

Schools in Mumbai along with the rest of Maharashtra were earlier scheduled to reopen from November 23. Moreover, earlier on November 10, the Maharashtra School Education department had announced a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in view of reopening schools in the state.