Teachers scared to take responsibility and discipline children Fear stems from fact that parents are 'critical both of them and the school' and a wrong decision might drag school into something undesirable

JHINUK MAZUMDAR  |  TT  | 03.12.23: Teachers are scared to take responsibility and discipline children, said principals in several schools.

The fear stems from the fact that parents are “critical both of them and the school” and a wrong decision might drag the school into something undesirable and teachers might have to face the flak.

For every small thing that happens in school involving children, teachers instead of taking responsibility and making a decision pass it on to the coordinators, principal or the vice-principal.

“The fear of being targeted withdraws teachers from disciplining the students. Teachers do not want to take responsibility or any risk. Instead, they pass the buck to the principal or the vice principal,” said Terence Ireland, principal of St James’ School.

Ireland said that many incidents that were earlier resolved in the classroom now reach the principal’s office.

Teachers are not inefficient but scared of the consequences, he said.

Something as minor as a child losing a textbook or something as major as bullying is now resolved in the principal’s office.

Schools too insist that the principal is kept aware of all that happens in class or on the playground.

The over-interference of parents in school matters and the support that they render to their children however illogical they are, have made teachers shakier, some of the principals and also teachers said.

“One of the reasons why teachers are like this is because a section of parents has become suspicious and deprecatingly critical. Teachers are scared that they might be dragged to the court or something that they say or do could bring disrepute or problems for the school,” said Rodney Borneo, principal, St Augustine’s Day School Shyamnagar.

Recently, a teacher saw a senior student in a shopping mall roaming in school uniform. When parents were called to the school, they sided with the student. They argued that the teacher was mistaken as it was not their son.

Parents have become more demanding and critical after the Covid pandemic because they have been privy to the classroom transactions, said Koeli Dey, principal of Sushila Birla Girls’ School.

“The sense of entitlement of parents is high. Some of them see the school only as a service provider,” said Dey.

A teacher, who is in the profession for 20 years, said they have become “vulnerable”.

“If an incident happens, the school management might not support the teacher. Parents blame the teacher when they try to discipline their child. So, it’s better to remain indifferent,” she said.

A teacher said, teachers now are far less committed than our teachers were”. “But teachers now have been forced into this situation. Our parents would not criticise our teachers or school in front of us,” she said.

More than one principal said that the sanctity of the relationship between the school and the student or the parent is lost.

“This has happened more after the pandemic because, in the two years, there were institutions who would ask teachers to follow up with students or parents on unpaid fees. So naturally the respect is lost,” said a principal.

Earlier, the class teacher would resolve a problem in class and escalate it only in exceptional circumstances. “Now the ability to take responsibility or a decision has gone down,” said Jessica Gomes Surana, principal, Loreto Day School Elliot Road.