By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 9: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of school teachers in East Jaintia Hills has slammed the district authorities for threatening to withhold their salaries if they refuse to use Ubiattendance (UBI) app.
In a message to the teachers, the sub-divisional school education officer said that they have been directed by the deputy commissioner of the East Jaintia Hills district to use the UBI app or face serious action, including delayed salary.
Meghalaya SSA Schools Association (MSSASA) president, Aristotle Rymbai told The Shillong Times on Sunday that declining to use an attendance app cannot be the reason for delaying the salaries of the teachers.
“We have said we are not against the move of the government to improve the education system. But this initiative related to attendance has not come from the Education Department,” he pointed out, urging his fellow teachers to be firm in opposing the move, as decided unanimously.
He said the teachers are doing their duties with total dedication and according to the timetable.
Rymbai questioned the use of a private app when the department has the block resource persons and cluster resource persons to monitor the attendance of the teachers.
“Has the introduction of this private app become necessary because the officers are not performing their duties?” he asked.
He said if the district authorities are so keen on implementing the app, each teacher should be given a mobile handset first.
“You cannot expect the teachers to use their personal mobile phones for their official purpose. If you are so committed to improving the system then you should not have any problem in providing the handset too,” Rymbai said.
He also criticised the suggestion of the deputy commissioner that the teachers can use the phones of their colleagues to use the app. “Will the teachers agree to hand over their mobile phones to others for this purpose?” he asked.
The MSSASA president said the deputy commissioner had during a meeting with the teachers on June 12 stated the mobile app would be used for six months. “The DC said the attendance app would be withdrawn in December as a Christmas gift for the teachers. What is the point of using the app if it is to be withdrawn in six months?” he said.
Rymbai also questioned Minister Kyrmen Shylla, the local MLA, for agreeing to launch the app without the sanction of the Education Department.
On June 23, Education Minister Rakkam A. Sangma questioned the district administration for signing an agreement with a private firm to implement the attendance app without the department’s go-ahead, the MSSASA president said.
The minister ordered the director of School Education and Literacy, Swapnil Tembe to seek a clarification from the East Jaintia Hills DC and submit a report to him.
“We are awaiting the report from the education minister. We will go on an agitation if we are unhappy with the report,” Rymbai said.
Reiterating that the MSSASA was not against the government’s bid to improve the attendance of the teachers, he said the district administration should have used its own website for the purpose instead of using an app developed by a private firm.
He said the teachers are scared that the private firm could misuse their personal details obtained through the app. “The DC shared the personal details of the teachers without their consent. The teachers do not have to register on the app but they need to log in with their phone numbers which are linked to their bank accounts,” Rymbai said.
The East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner issued an order on June 21 stating that all teachers who are receiving remuneration from the state and central government and are teaching in government SSA and government-aided lower primary and upper primary schools must mandatorily use the attendance app from July 1.
Following the order, the district mission coordinator of SSA issued a notice to all the cluster resource persons to conduct a training of all the elementary school teachers on the UBI app.