Teachers say they face verbal abuse by students every day

NEW DELHI: “Considering the kind of verbal abuse we suffer each day, nobody will believe we are guru to these students,” said Nishi Aggarwal, a government schoolteacher. She is one among many teachers who feel the current “politicisation” of public education system has put them in such negative light that students have no fear of them anymore.
According to Aggarwal, it is now normal for schoolteachers to listen to insults and abuses from students, especially those of higher classes.“We listen to such dirty language every day. Teaching is supposed to be a respected job, but such name calling can make you question your choice,” she said, adding that many of her peers have thought about quitting the profession to escape the harassment.
Though women teachers are more prone to harassment, men are not left alone either. “Just the other day I had asked a student to behave during my usual rounds. After school he followed me on a motorcycle and hurled abuses before riding past. This is the situation of a PT teacher who tells the children openly that they will be punished for misbehaviour. Imagine what women teachers have to go through,” said Kirshan Kumar, a teacher in a government school in Punjabi Bagh.
According to him, the security at government schools is extremely lackadaisical, contributing to the lack of fear among students. “Guards have no training. Most of them used to be a rickshaw-puller or own a tea stall. There is no use of such guards if a group of students alone can overpower them,” said Kumar.
Teachers blamed government policies for the current situation. According to them, bringing back students who have failed in Class IX several times is disturbing the discipline balance.
“These kids were removed because they had repeated the same class more than once. Now the government wants to bring them back to school under ‘Vishwas’ group, but many have taken to drugs and even become hardened criminals. We do not have enough staff to begin with. We cannot discipline these kids at this point,” said Kumar.
Ajay Veer Yadav, the secretary of Government School Teachers Association, agreed. Though the Right To Education Act mandates that no child below Class VIII be detained, the regrouping in Class IX puts added pressure on teachers, said Yadav. “RTE also mandates a teacher-student ratio that is not followed in these schools. We have to work under immense pressure.”
According to Yadav, though harassment takes place every day, teachers are hesitant to bring up the issue. “It was brave of the English teacher in Vivek Vihar to report the matter to the police. Most teachers do not take it to the notice of the authorities because the issue goes to the school management committee, which usually just makes the student apologise to the teacher,” he said.
Teachers claim they have had to handle local politicians brought to the school on complaints of students punished by them for misbehaviour. “Even if we discipline students of higher classes, we have to face the parents who threaten to make an issue out of it. They rope in local leaders and we get into trouble. The politicisation of the system has left teachers completely helpless,” said Aggarwal.