Teacher absenteeism in govt schools substantially lower than general impressions, says new study

“Our experience of 16 years of working with teachers suggests that on the average government school teachers are a committed lot, and many demonstrate exemplary commitment. Their effectiveness is dependent on their work environment and the support they get. Clearly, the matter of teacher absenteeism is not as big an issue as it is made out to be, our study also suggests that,” said Anish Madhavan, Head of Field Research, Azim Premji Foundation.

The study also found out that another 16.4 per cent teachers were out of school – all with legitimate reasons such as on training, attending academic meetings, and on earned leave. Besides this, it also that targeting and blaming the teachers for matters that are beyond their control is likely to be counterproductive and to adversely affect the government school system.