Gujarat Launches Investigation into 150 Missing Teachers
The Gujarat government, under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has launched a comprehensive investigation into the absenteeism of approximately 150 teachers across the state. Over the past week, numerous schools have reported that several teachers have been absent without notice, with some even residing abroad or taking unauthorized leave for extended periods.
On Tuesday night, the state government announced that 134 teachers had been issued show cause notices, with dismissal proceedings initiated against them. The government credited the detection of these absentee teachers to its advanced Control and Command Centre (CCC) for schools. According to the Minister of State for Primary, Secondary, and Adult Education, Praful Pansheriya, 32 teachers have been identified as residing abroad, while 31 others are on unauthorized leave. He asserted that none of these teachers were receiving salaries, contradicting media reports that some were still being paid.
Pansheriya addressed the media, stating that data from 17 districts had revealed these figures by Monday, and that further investigations were ongoing in other districts. The minister assured that legal action would be taken against all teachers found to be violating regulations. Earlier reports indicated that a teacher from Banaskantha district had been living in the United States for several years while continuing to draw a salary until January this year. Similar cases have surfaced in other districts, although officials from the state education department have remained tight-lipped, declining to respond to inquiries.
Sources suggest that the actual number of teachers residing abroad could be as high as 50, with nearly 100 others found to be on unauthorized leave. The opposition Congress party has accused the government of failing to address what they describe as a “well-organized scam” and has demanded stricter action against the errant teachers.
Despite the controversy, the state government defended the CCC, which operates from Gandhinagar, stating that it plays a crucial role in monitoring over 50,000 government-run primary schools and supporting 400,000 teachers in improving educational outcomes. The CCC, touted as a real-time online monitoring system, is said to have significantly boosted both student and teacher attendance, with reported increases of 80 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
The BJP government dismissed criticism of the CCC as unfounded, maintaining that the system has been instrumental in enhancing the presence of both students and teachers in classrooms across the state.
