This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-28684751
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
India school teacher 'absent for 23 years' | India school teacher 'absent for 23 years' |
(35 minutes later) | |
An Indian school says one of its teachers has been absent for 23 of the 24 years she has been on its books. | |
Sangeeta Kashyap was recruited in 1990 by the government in the central state of Madhya Pradesh as a biology teacher. | 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. | 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. | 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 the town of Dewas in her first year, after which she took three years of leave. | |
In 1994, she was transferred to a school in the city of Indore 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. | 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. | 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 told BBC Hindi's Shuraih Niyaazi. | |
The school is allowed to have three biology teachers, but only two are filled - with the third held by the absentee teacher. | |
Correspondents say absenteeism is a pervasive problem in government-run schools in India. | 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. | 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. |
Ms Kashyap's whereabouts remain unknown and she has not commented on the reports about her in the Indian press. | |
It is also not clear why she did not return to work - correspondents say the fact her post remained empty for so long says little for decision-making at the education department. |