Even dead & retired Assam teachers on absentee list

GUWAHATI: A crackdown on absenteeism among govt schoolteachers in Assam appeared to boomerang on the education department when it transpired that the published list of 3,700-odd names whose salaries were to be stopped included many who were either dead, retired or on maternity leave.
Education minister Ranoj Pegu swung into damage-control mode Sunday, saying an investigation into the faux pas would be conducted.
The department had initially flagged 4,907 names, including 1,190 college teachers, with allegedly zero attendance. The list was pruned by excluding the college teachers after Pegu pointed out that they are outside the school education department's purview.
"Education Deptt has ordered to hold the salaries of the teachers whose attendance is ZERO in the Shiksha Setu portal, except those who are on training, leave, deputation or in other govt. duty with due permission. An inquiry has also been ordered to determine the reason for their zero attendance," the minister posted on X.
"@SchoolEdnAssam will now inquire about the 'zero attendance' of 3,717 school teachers only, not college teachers." Ratul Chandra Goswami, secretary general of the Assam State Primary Teachers' Association, questioned the veracity of the data put out by the department. "Publishing the names of teachers on leave is unacceptable and disrespectful," he said.
"The order to stop salaries of deceased, retired, deputed and suspended teachers as well as those on maternity leave proves the department's lack of coordination. Instead of making the list of absent teachers public, the department could have collected the information internally and taken action against those who were absent without authorisation."
The list was published on the Shiksha Setu portal, a digital platform for information on schools, staff and students that was selected for a national award in the e-governance category this year.
The list includes Naba Kakoty from Golaghat district, who died on March 20 this year. Kakoty's death had been reported immediately to the education department, said Haren Barkotoky, a colleague.
Another "publicly shamed" teacher is Mahim Basumatary from Chirang district, who retired on Jan 1. "I am preoccupied with pension paperwork, and I no longer expect a monthly salary!" he quipped.
Nayanmoni Phukan, an assistant teacher on maternity leave since Feb 1, said her application for six months of paid maternity leave was approved by the deputy inspector of schools in Jorhat.