Sermon to irrregular teachers

TT, Calcutta, Nov. 19: Education minister Partha Chatterjee today said college and university teachers would have to attend classes regularly and indicated that the state government was firm in its stand to implement measures to track the time they spend on campus.

"For every university and college student, a minimum of 75 per cent attendance is compulsory to be eligible for exams. How is it possible to ask students to have the required attendance if teachers do not take classes regularly?" Chatterjee asked.

The minister was addressing the 90th annual conference of the Left-backed West Bengal College and University Teachers' Association (WBCUTA) at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark.

The government is set to table a bill in the Assembly to overhaul the higher education system. The provisions are expected to include biometric attendance for college and university teachers.

In Bengal, universities do not maintain attendance registers for teachers. College teachers, however, have to sign a register but allegations have often been made that in the absence of monitoring, many do not mention the actual entry and exit times.

"The system of recording attendance is a norm everywhere. All ministers have to sign the attendance register. No exception is made for the Prime Minister too," Chatterjee said.