Teachers in the city claim that they feel awkward asking young children about their religion and caste they belong to as most of them are not aware what that means.
Despite providing details about students for SARAL data, all the state schools have been asked by the education department to gather similar information all over again for Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), a move that has irked the teachers.
Teachers in the city claim that they feel awkward asking young children about their religion and caste they belong to as most of them are not aware what that means. This also means additional work for teachers, who are already burdened working on science exhibition, open house, semester exam, among others.
Talking about the issue, Uday Nare — a teacher from Hansraj Morarji Public School, Andheri — said: "Schools have re-opened after vacation and teachers are busy with open house, science exhibitions and preparing for first semester examination. On top of this, teachers are being asked to gather information on minority students in their school. This information has already been provided for SARAL data. I wonder why the education department is asking for a separate list. It is also embarrassing to ask children whether they are Muslim, Sikh or Christian when most of the younger lots are not aware of what minority status means."
Echoing similar sentiments, another teacher Rajesh Pandya, vice-president of Teachers Democratic Front, said: "We have been asked to gather information about the minority status of students in school. Asking us to do the same work all over again is nothing but injustice."
An education officer from western zone said: "The information we are collecting is for UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education). This information is collected every year from schools."
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