In a circular issued by Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district education officer on Monday to implement the ‘Amche Guruji’ (Our Teacher) initiative, government primary school teachers have been directed to keep their photographs in schools.
The circular, applicable to all schools, including secondary and management, has asked schools to submit compliance reports by January 2, 2025, to ensure that the initiative is fully implemented before the January 5 deadline.
It referred to a virtual review meeting held by the state’s Directorate of Primary Education that gave directions for the orders, indicating that other districts are likely to follow suit.
“All primary schools have been directed to prepare flexboards with photographs of 6×4 inches size with information such as names of their permanent teachers, educational qualification and subjects taught by them. These flex-boards should be prominently displayed outside the office of school-principals. It is expected to provide visitors with information about the teachers employed in the school and their subjects,” it read.
There is no statewide circular
Although there is no statewide circular in this regard, Director of Primary Education Sharad Gosavi confirmed that his office has instructed all education officers to implement ‘Amche Guruji’. “It is an initiative of the central government and is applicable in various states,” he added.
However, the Nandurbar District Education Officer’s circular has caused a controversy that the teachers plan to continue their earlier stand. The state government first launched the initiative in July last year and sought compliance by December 2024.
“This initiative has no clear purpose and certainly has no importance in educational activities. It is just another way of keeping teachers engaged in unnecessary activities when apparently all students and parents – and in the case of Maharashtra’s interior, entire villages – know their school-teachers personally,” Mahendra Ganpule, former Headmaster of Maharashtra School said. ‘ Association.
Teaching the purpose of ridiculing the community
Although the purpose of the initiative is not clear, many have linked it to the phenomenon of ‘bogus’ teachers working in government schools.
However, many from the teaching community have scoffed at this aim. “It is a failure of the system to keep strict vigilance if fake teachers are working. Placing photographs of teachers is not the solution. Vijay Kombe, head of the Maharashtra State Primary Teachers’ Association, an association of primary school teachers, said.
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