Patna, Nov 21 (PTI) A controversy has arisen overdirections to school teachers in certain Bihar districts todissuade people from defecating in the open and click picturesof those who refused to pay heed.
Orders issued by block education officers askedteachers to do rounds in various wards and panchayat areas inthe mornings and evenings and ask people to use toilets.
They were also directed to click photographs to shamethose who insisted on relieving themselves in the open.
However, teachers were not happy with the extra loadof work.
"Teachers are already overworked. They are used in anumber of non-teaching works like census, preparation ofvoters' list etc. This new order on open defecation is notonly an addition, it is also an insult to their dignity,"general secretary of Bihar Secondary Teachers' AssociationShatrughan Prasad Singh said.
State Education Minister Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma,however, defended the move, saying "Teachers are intellectualsand can perform the task of convincing people not to defecatein the open much better than others." "Moreover, the teachers do not have to keep a tab onthose defecating in the open throughout the day. They willhave to take some time off in the mornings and the evenings.
This will not affect their teaching work," he said.
Achieving open defecation free (ODF) status has becomea priority in Bihar in view of the Swachch Bharat Abhiyanlaunched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Seven Resolves ofChief Minister Nitish Kumar, both of which aim at providingevery household with sanitation facility. PTI NACNN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.