A section of school teachers have boycotted ‘Techie Teacher’, a training programme in Information Technology organised by the Samagra Shiksha, Kerala (SSK) for the General Education department, alleging that the participants were forced to be present even during night.
The first phase of the training was held from 9 a.m. on Tuesday till 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
P.K. Aravindan, State general secretary of the Congress-affiliated Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association (KPSTA), said on Wednesday that SSK officials had not consulted representatives of teachers’ unions before deciding the schedule of training. He claimed that the SSK officials did not pay heed to the proposal to convert it into a three-day module. “It looks like officials were in a hurry to spend the allocated funds,” Mr. Aravindan alleged. He pointed out that it was done by a group of people who managed to get appointment in the SSK through deputation and on contract basis.
KPSTA will take out a protest march to the SSK State office in Thiruvananthapuram on October 26, he added.
However, SSK officials told The Hindu that the training module was conceived as a residential programme to help participants. An official said most schools in the State were now being converted into high-tech institutions. The current generation of students are tech-savvy too. Teachers should also keep pace with technological advancements and blended learning methods. “They were supposed to spend two days and one night at the training camp. The participants could clear their doubts and get practical knowledge. There were no complaints about the module,” an official said.
Asked about allegations raised by KPSTA, he said they were politically motivated.
