Teachers protest UP govt's 'selfie with students' order

One has heard about people getting killed during an attempt to take selfies but that is not the reason why teachers are protesting selfies in Uttar Pradesh.

The teachers of government primary schools in Uttar Pradesh have been up in arms against the state government's recent directive for taking selfies with the students thrice a day, as proof of their attendance.

"The first selfie should be taken in the morning... it should show the school building behind the photo... the second should be while serving the mid-day meal and the third one should be after the school is over," said a basic education official here.

The teachers would not only have to take the selfies with the students three times a day but would also have to upload the same on a web portal launched by the state government for this purpose.

The state government launched the 'Prerna App' and 'Prerna We Portal' a few days back. "This is nothing but harassment of the teachers... is this how one should mark his or her attendance... this will only increase our workload," said a primary teacher here.

He said that if the government thought this was a better way for checking attendance, then it should be applied to everyone. "Why single out primary teachers only?" he asked.

The basic education officials said that the decision was taken after complaints that the primary teachers remained absent from the schools. The Teachers' unions said that they would stage protest demonstrations at district headquarters next week and submit memorandums to the government.

The unions have also asked its members not to follow the directive of the government.