The Chhota Udepur District Primary Education Officer (DPEO) has issued a circular seeking details of WhatsApp groups made by government primary school teachers, stating that “critical comments” against the district education office are being made on the social media groups, and therefore they need to be booked under relevant sections of the cyber law. The circular, dated April 16, stated, “It has been noticed that the teachers attached with the primary schools at the taluka level are running various WhatsApp groups. Several critical comments are made in these group conversations regarding the department office as well as the working of the education department. Such an act can be termed as indiscipline and anyone making such comments is liable to be prosecuted under the cyber crime law, for which the department can file a complaint. Therefore, all teachers must provide a list of the number of WhatsApp groups as well as their admins within two days to the District Primary Education Officer so that these groups can be checked.” The circular has sent shivers among teachers because of the threat of being prosecuted under the cyber law. A teacher in Naswadi taluka said, “The circular is definitely demotivating. There are a lot of things that are not right in the education system in rural areas, especially in tribal districts like Chhota Udepur, where there is a constant problem of electricity, as a result of which, the smart classes do not function. There are no teachers in many schools. The hilly terrains in some areas make it a difficult task to convince the tribal families to send their children to school everyday. In such a situation, if teachers are communicating with each other and trying to find motivation by sharing our distress, why should it hurt the administration? These are personal groups made by teachers who are friends. Is it not invasion into the freedom of expression?” A supervisor teacher from Sankheda said that the DPEO’s circular is an attempt to throttle any criticism from the staff. “The department is worried about the fact that WhatsApp groups and social media can help spread messages in quick time. They do not want the real picture of the schools that can cause embarrassment to go out. In fact, this step comes as their second such move after they barred teachers from using the phone during school hours recently,” the teacher said. Earlier, on April 10, the DPEO had issued a circular directing teachers to deposit their cellphones with the head teacher. “If any teacher is found talking on the phone during school hours, then the head teacher will be held responsible for the lapse of compliance with the order,” the circular stated, DPEO Mahesh Prajapati said that he was “forced to resort” to the step as a “corrective” measure for teachers who were overstepping the line. “The issue of teachers making critical comments about the department came to my notice after we rescheduled school timings from 7 am-12 pm to 7.30 am-12.30 pm. This did not go down well with many teachers who are posted in comfortable locations. And they resorted to slander against the department,” Prajapati said. “If any such (critical) conversation comes to my notice, I will take necessary action with the help of the cyber department,” he added. About 5,500 teachers work in the primary schools in the district that has about 12,000 students.
