SSC teachers to be allowed on Mumbai locals

A train passes through Dadar railway station. Pic/Ashish Raje

In a much-needed relief for teachers working for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) assessment process, the school education department announced on Thursday that they would be allowed to board local trains.

Since the formula for SSC results were declared, teachers have been demanding permission to board locals to reach their respective schools for the assessment work, as the government plans to come out with the results next month.

"It will be really beneficial for students, especially because the SSC assessment process will gain speed. Considering the geographical conditions of Mumbai, it was becoming difficult for teachers to report to their respective schools for assessment work. This will be a huge relief for them. Teachers will be allowed to board suburban locals with Level 2 (based on relaxations) passes," informed an official from the office of School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad.

There will be a special online process to issue the passes, which will be conducted by the office of Deputy Director of Education in Mumbai. A link will be given through which teachers will have to provide their details for the passes.

Responding to the development, Shivnath Darade from Shikshak Parishad, which has been following up with the state government on the issue, said, "It is certainly a huge relief not only for teachers but also for students as this will speed up the assessment work. Teachers were spending a lot of time travelling."

Adding to this, Sanjay Daware from Kayam Vinaanudanit Shala Kruti Samiti, said, "We welcome this decision. But this relief should be extended to other teachers and non-teaching staff too as the government has issued an order for them to maintain 50 per cent attendance in schools."

Anil Bornare, vice-president, BJP teachers' cell, which had threatened to stop the assessment work, said, "Is it really a relief? The process of issuing passes for teachers seems to be a time-consuming one. They should have instead given railway passes based on teachers' ID cards."