Complex rules of ACRs irk Education Dept teachers

Aparna Banerji

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 26

The newly-introduced Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) by the state government in view of the poor performance of teachers in Class X and Class VII results this year has become a cause of confusion among teachers in the Education Department. While on one hand, the embattled teachers’ unions are protesting the move – the government teachers union also met the DPI yesterday in this regard – on the other hand, some teachers are openly demanding the removal of the ACRs.

The classification of the ACRs into grades and every minute bit of performances of students based on exams and tests has annoyed teachers. For the past three to four years, results were not a part of the ACRs of teachers. However, with the state government getting tough given their poor performances, especially in Class X results for the past two years, it decided to ‘burden’ the teachers with a detailed column on results.

Teachers say they have no problem with results being included in their ACRs but their annoyance is with the complicated manner in which the state government has framed the rules of these ACRs.

“The ACRs are based on certain formulae. We have to list performances of students grade-wise. Then, in a second column, we have to club two grades together. This goes on for all the grades from A to E. In fact, while E graders are usually students who are in the lowest rung, many of these students don’t even turn up at exams or during classes the entire session. Just by default of them being students, we have to promote them to the next class. Now, the government will review the performance of E graders as well. So, we shall now be expected to bring them to schools from their homes. If they underperform, which they are bound to do, the teachers will again be blamed for the same,” a teacher said.

Another teacher from a rural school said, “We have a couple of admissions in our school this year of students who don’t even know how to write ‘seva vikhe’, ‘ura aira’, ‘abc’ or for that matter many things that even a fifth grader can manage easily. During results, we shall be held responsible for these students. Since the hint that government is giving to teachers is ‘perform or perish’, the teachers will be forced to opt for other shortcuts or just somehow dispending away with E graders. When an entire category of students is weak, efforts on the grassroots level are required to make them perform. Rather than working on students with patience, the government expects us to take a shortcut. Therein lies the problem.”

DEO (s) Harinder Pal said, “The various columns in the ACR only aim to compare teachers’ performances with board results. So far I have only heard of teachers approaching the authorities for a review regarding ACRs but none of the teachers have personally approached me on the issue.”