The Hindu : Front Page : Teachers, cellphones will soon be parted

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Teachers, cellphones will soon be parted

Special Correspondent

Only headmasters and principals to be allowed to use them

Teachers told to mark attendance in Kannada
3.25 cr. textbooks to be printed with new designs

— Photo: Vipin Chandran

Nuisance: There have been complaints by students that classes are being disturbed by teachers using cellphones.

Bangalore: In a move to bring in discipline among teaching staff, the Government has decided to ban the use of cellphones by teachers in government and aided primary schools, high schools and junior colleges during working hours across the State.

The Government has already banned the use of cellphones by students in all government and aided schools and junior colleges.

In view of several complaints by students that classes were being disturbed by teachers using cellphones, it was decided to include teachers too under the purview of the ban on the ubiquitous gadgets, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri told presspersons here on Friday.

Mr. Kageri, who toured several districts in the recent past, said a circular would be issued to all schools and colleges to prohibit the use of cellphones by teachers. Only headmasters and college principals would be allowed to use mobile phones for administrative work. Nearly three lakh government teachers and lectures are serving in over 40,000 government and aided schools and junior colleges in the State.

In another move, he said all teachers and lectures had been instructed to use Kannada for marking their attendance in schools/colleges. Now, teachers and lecturers mark their attendance in English: ‘P’ for present and ‘A’ for absent. But a large number of teachers overwrite both ‘A’ and ‘P’ according to their convenience, Mr. Kageri said.

To enhance the quality of school textbooks, the department has decided to laminate cover pages of all textbooks from class I to class X.

About 3.25 crore textbooks would be printed with new designs at a cost of Rs. 65 crore, he said.

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