The Assam government has begun cracking down on school teachers who spend more time selling insurance policies and other financial schemes.
The action follows the “pathetically dismal” performance of the State-run schools in the Class 10 examinations, the results of which were declared on June 7. The total pass percentage was 56.49%, a sharp drop from the 93.10% in 2021 when the examinations were not held owing to COVID-19.
The State government’s attention was particularly to 25 schools where “zero per cent” students succeeded and 77 others where the pass percentage was 10% or less.
“A section of teachers is serving as LIC agents in the name of teaching. Selling insurance policies instead of teaching is reflecting on the results of the schools,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
“Of course, there are many teachers who discharge their duties sincerely. Otherwise, almost 60% students would not have succeeded,” he added.
The State’s Secondary Education Department in May started receiving allegations that many teachers were engaged as LIC agents.
“…you are requested to immediately fix a hearing and proceed as per the procedures of the Disciplinary Rules in force and submit the steps taken to the department by next 15 days,” a May 12 letter from S.N. Choudhury, the Secondary Education secretary to the department’s director, said.
The director was told to instruct all inspectors of schools to issue a notice that “teaching and non-teaching staff of schools should not be involved as LIC agents or any other licensed profession”.
Anybody involved in such licensed profession should withdraw voluntarily by May 31, the letter said and asked the inspectors of schools to prepare a list of such withdrawals and submit it to the director of Secondary Education by June 7.
The department has not revealed how many teachers were or are working as insurance agents and how many of them have withdrawn from the licensed profession.
