‘500 Teachers Skip Schools, Hired Proxies,’ Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh Exposes Poor Education Quality | FP Photo
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): School education minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh on Wednesday said about 500 teachers remain absent from schools. Singh made the statement at an event ‘Shiksha Mahakumbh’ in Raisen to commemorate the birth centenary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The minister said systemic flaws have hampered quality education in the state. After Singh addressed the programme, a short clip of his statement went viral on social media. In his statement, Singh admitted to knowing “around 500 teachers who do not attend schools.”
He further alleged that in some cases, proxy individuals have been hired to teach in place of the actual teachers. The issue is prevalent even in his own district with approximately 100 such teachers, he added.
The statement attracted criticism from the Congress with senior party spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta stating that if the minister was not even capable of suspending those 100 teachers of his own district, he should resign from his post, he does not have any right to be a school education minister.
Gupta further said that if he is helpless, then inform the matter to the Prime Minister. He added that if he is helpless or this information is not factually correct, then the Chief Minister should take cognisance and give a clarification.
Meanwhile, following uproar and serious concerns about the quality of education, the minister gave a clarification on Thursday. Singh told mediapersons: “We are focusing on reform instead of punishing teachers. I have communicated with the teachers and there are good and weak in all classes.” He added that those who are not doing good work have been identified.
