40 teachers suspended for being absent from duties in Kulgam

KULGAM — Chief Education Officer Kulgam on Tuesday suspended 40 teachers for their unauthorised absence from various schools during official hours.

An official said that the CEO accompanied by the concerned Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) conducted a surprise visit to various schools in Devsar and Damhal-Hanjipora area to interact with the students and the teaching staff but the teachers were found absent.

Chief Education Officer, Muhammad Ashraf confirmed that 40 teachers were suspended for being absent from schools.

He said the department cannot tolerate irresponsible behaviour of school staff, particularly heads of the institutions. “There will be action if teachers won’t take their job seriously,” he said.

The students enrolled in government schools should be our priority and teachers should treat them as their own children, he said.

Pertinently, the educational institutions remained closed for over four months in the wake of the Government of India’s decision to abrogate the special status of J&K (Article 370) and to bifurcate the erstwhile State into two Union Territories—J&K and Ladakh on August 5, last year.

Yesterday, schools re-opened after a gap of seven months.