Devil Soul
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 22,931
- Reaction score
- 45
- Country
- Location
India school teacher 'absent for 23 years'
An Indian teacher, on the books of a government school for 24 years, has been absent for the past 23 years.
Sangeeta Kashyap was recruited in 1990 by the government in the central state of Madhya Pradesh as a biology teacher.
School authorities say they do not know when she was last paid a salary, but she is still listed as an employee.
An official in the state education department told BBC Hindi that they had begun the process to remove her from the post.
Ms Kashyap was hired 24 years ago and taught in a school in Dewas town in her first year, after which she took a three-year leave.
In 1994, she was transferred to a school in Indore city but applied for maternity leave and never returned to work.
Letters sent by the school to her address have remained unanswered, Sushma Vaishya, principal of the Government Ahilya Ashram School in Indore, said.
An education department official said they had written to education authorities in the state capital, Bhopal, to remove Ms Kashyap from her post.
"I have no idea why nothing was done. We are writing to them again to remove her," Sanjay Goel said.
The school is allowed to have three biology teachers, but has only two working ones because one post is held up by the absentee teacher.
Correspondents say absenteeism is a pervasive problem in government-run schools in India.
A World Bank study in 2004 found that 25% of teachers were absent from school, and only about half were teaching during unannounced visits to government primary schools.
BBC News - India school teacher 'absent for 23 years'
An Indian teacher, on the books of a government school for 24 years, has been absent for the past 23 years.
Sangeeta Kashyap was recruited in 1990 by the government in the central state of Madhya Pradesh as a biology teacher.
School authorities say they do not know when she was last paid a salary, but she is still listed as an employee.
An official in the state education department told BBC Hindi that they had begun the process to remove her from the post.
Ms Kashyap was hired 24 years ago and taught in a school in Dewas town in her first year, after which she took a three-year leave.
In 1994, she was transferred to a school in Indore city but applied for maternity leave and never returned to work.
Letters sent by the school to her address have remained unanswered, Sushma Vaishya, principal of the Government Ahilya Ashram School in Indore, said.
An education department official said they had written to education authorities in the state capital, Bhopal, to remove Ms Kashyap from her post.
"I have no idea why nothing was done. We are writing to them again to remove her," Sanjay Goel said.
The school is allowed to have three biology teachers, but has only two working ones because one post is held up by the absentee teacher.
Correspondents say absenteeism is a pervasive problem in government-run schools in India.
A World Bank study in 2004 found that 25% of teachers were absent from school, and only about half were teaching during unannounced visits to government primary schools.
BBC News - India school teacher 'absent for 23 years'

