Working as a teacher in a Government school in Haryana, better think twice before taking your mobile to the classroom. For, the Haryana Government on Thursday barred school teachers from stepping inside the classrooms with mobile phones and decided to hold head of the school “accountable” for violation of the guidelines.
In a fresh set of guidelines issued for government school teachers, the State Government has stated that teachers can carry a mobile phone in classrooms only if required as an academic aid for which they would have to take prior permission. The guidelines come into effect immediately.
More than 25 lakh students study in the Government-run schools, from primary to senior secondary across the State, while there are more than 85,000 teachers posted in these schools.
“Henceforth, no teacher shall take mobile phone to the classroom. It shall be kept stashed away in the staff room or in an area earmarked by the head of school. The person head of school may like to make in charge of custody of cell phones may be head of school room, staff room, clerk or any other employee,” said a spokesman of Haryana Education Department.
He said that if for some unavoidable reasons, mobile phone is required to be taken to the classroom for academic use by a teacher prior permission should be taken from the head of school for reasons to be recorded in a register to be maintained for this purpose.
The guidelines stem from the observation that many teachers take mobile phones to classrooms during teaching hours for personal, not professional, use.
This amounts to misusing and diverting teaching hours to other purposes which are unproductive and do not in any way contribute to academic improvement of schools. This has to be checked, said the spokesman.
According to the guidelines, to facilitate any emergency communication about teachers, it shall be ensured that the head of school makes available two contact numbers to all teachers.
These two phone numbers for emergency call can be that of head of school, the second senior most in-charge of the school, or clerk, or any other arrangement deemed fit by the head of school, the guidelines stated.
Use of mobile phone during non-class hours shall be confined to the area other than the classes. The students should be saved from disturbance of external influence of mobile phones, the guidelines said.
It further stated that the parameter of class presence without mobile phones applies to head of school also. All inspecting officers, whether on regular inspection or surprise inspections, shall check whether compliance of these instructions is being made meticulously or not.
The spokesman said that in case of any violation, action against the head of school shall be proposed by the inspecting officer. If any substantive complaint is received from any other person like students or general public that the guidelines are being violated on any campus, the head of school shall be held squarely accountable, he added.
Mobile phone has recently emerged as the single gadget which has started consuming class time of some teachers. Social media or other entertainment scopes of mobiles hardly contribute anything towards the syllabus which is to be taught to the students on the school campus, he said.
There may be sporadic creative instances where a teacher may want to use a mobile phone for creative academic purposes.
Yet, if in the name of rare creativity a no-holds-barred situation is allowed on the campuses, undesirable consequences are bound to arise, the spokesman added.