All the block education offices of in the state are flooded these days with requests of women teachers for Child Care leave (CCl). The sad fact is that these teachers are pressing for the CCl to look after their own children at a time when the annual examinations are scheduled in the schools where they are posted. It is learnt from reliable sources that hundreds of teachers in the districts of the state are either on CCl or have submitted application for it. Most of these female teachers have stated that the examinations of their children are going on or are scheduled soon and that they have to help their kids in preparing for examinations.
It is pertinent to mention here that the annual home examinations of the government schools and the class X and XII examination of Uttarakhand Vidhyalayi Shiksha Parishad (UVSP) are scheduled in the month of March. The large number of applications for leave by the female teachers makes it appear as if they are more concerned about their own children than ensuring better performance of the students they are teaching. Interestingly the education department claims that it judges the performance of the teachers on the basis of the results they are delivering but the impunity with which these teachers are taking the leave during this crucial time suggests that such claims of department are frivolous.
“The female teachers are legally entitled for child care leave but they should also think twice before taking leave at a time when the examinations of the students they are teaching are scheduled. The government should link the promotion and transfers of teachers with the performance of their students,’’ said U S Gusain a retired school principal.
The problem of teachers seeking leave is more prominent in the primary education department as almost 70 per cent of the primary school teachers are females. The primary education director Seema Jaunsari told The Pioneer that the CCl is a right of the female teachers but they should also take into consideration the future of the children they are teaching. She said that in view of the examinations the teachers are not given childcare leave of more than 15 days. Jaunsari added that the education officers are directed to ensure that in the single teacher schools the CCl is sanctioned only after alternate arrangement is made.
The female teachers are allowed childcare leave of two years or 730 days during their entire period of service. This leave can be availed till their youngest child attains the age of 18 years. The female staff can take this leave during examination of their children or during their illness.