Many teachers wasting 30% of work-week: principals

Many teachers across the city are not spending the 15 hours per week of after-school time mandated for preparing lesson plans, correcting students' work, research, reading, and other school-related work. Many teachers are treating those 15 hours as free time instead of working, school principals say. The 15 hours are part of a 45-hour weekly schedule set by the Right to Education act. The schedule applies to teachers of all aided and unaided schools in the country.

The RTE act says that teachers can spend part of these 15 hours on remedial coaching for weaker students (those who score 'D' grade or lower).

The 15-hour rule came in when the RTE act was implemented in April 2010. As per the act, teachers would have to spend 30 hours teaching and 15 in other activities. Some of these hours could be spent in working at home as well.

But there is a problem: school principals have observed that many teachers are not following the norms. They are relaxing instead of spending the 15 hours in work.

The reason? There is no authority in charge of inspecting the teachers' work schedules, say principals.

Fr. Francis Swamy, principal of the aided St. Xavier's School in Dhobi Talao, said: "The rule for teachers to spend working hours is 30 hours inside the school and 15 outside. But this is not being followed in many schools now."