LETTER BY MANI
AINVSA/CEC/2011-12/20 Dated 15nd July,,2011
To
The Commissioner
Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti
A-28,Kailash Colony, New Delhi-110048
Sub : Functions of Master On Duty-reg.
Sir,
In response to the letter F.No2-18/2011-NVS(SA.) dated 11th July, 2011 circulated by NVS HQ in its official website relating to role and functions of Master on Duty (M.O.D) in JNVs with the intention to enforce accountability on teachers we would like to bring the following facts to your kind attention:
The MOD duty was introduced in Navodaya Vidyalayas during the period when Vice-Principal posts were not constituted and also when most of the Navodaya Vidyalayas were functioning in temporary buildings with limited infrastructure. The practice has been continued since then even when regular Vice-Principal is posted in all Vidyalayas and almost all Navodaya Vidyalayas are functioning in permanent buildings with sufficient infrastructure.
The purpose of MOD has become redundant as there are two administrators, Principal and Vice Principal in each Vidyalaya to look after the functioning of the School. For all other administrative management, various committees such as M&R Committee, CCA Committee, Purchase Committee, Mess Committee, etc. are constituted with teaching staff as its members and that the system functions smoothily and effectively.
Hence the monitoring of the day to day activities of the Vidyalaya is a sole and whole responsibility of Principal and Vice Principal only and as such there is no need to impose their basic duties and responsibilities upon teachers who are otherwise burdened heavily with other academic and House related work. There is no justification what so ever to delegate the basic duties and responsibilities of Principal and Vice Principal to the Teachers. Also it has been a practice of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti to punish MOD of the day, if any untoward incident happens in the school. It has been used only as a tool to victimise a teacher in such cases over the years.
Hence it is requested that MOD duty system may henceforth be scrapped with immediate effect. AINVSA looks forward to a speedy action in this regard, failing which the teachers may be compelled to boycott MOD Duty from 1st August, 2011.
Thanking You
Yours Faithfully
TP MANI
President, AINVSA, CEC
Copy to all ROs & All JNVs
LETTER BY REDDY
F.No.AINVSACEC-2011-12/7-11 Date 11-07-2011
To
The Hon`ble Commissioner
Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti
New Delhi
Sub: functions of Master on Duty – request to scrap MOD-reg
We are happy to note that Samiti is trying to streamline certain things which have not received their due attention in the last two decades – the drafting of rules for allotment of residential quarters being one of them. The latest is the circulation of the MOD duties and reports to bring ‘uniformity’ in the schools. In this the Samiti has rationalised the exploitation of teachers from morning 5.30 a.m. to evening 10.30p.m. nonstop! But at the end of the end day what matters most to it is report submitted by the MOD.
As usual Samiti thinks for staff and acts for them. It decides how much of extra work is to be extracted from them unilaterally as it is sure of the uncomplaining compliance and unreserved obedience of the staff. The teachers are dumb cows and their role is only to receive orders and silently implement them. An ‘elite management’ never does anything wrong.
The MOD was introduced over a decade ago. The purpose behind it was to assist the Principal and monitor certain sensitive areas for the effective running of the vidyalaya. In the absence of clear guidelines the defining of duties was left to the discretion of the Principals. In one school a single teacher was forced to perform MOD duties from Sunday to Saturday and in another school the teacher on MOD duty was to sumbit a 16 page report at the end of his duty. These are just only two examples of excesses committed by some over enthusiastic principals in the name of running the vidyalayas effectively. In all schools the teachers perform the MOD duties in addition to their regular teaching duties and other duties like HMs/AHMs, Class Teachers or incharges of various committees. In schools where Principals are least sympathetic to the personal life and freedom of teachers, the sincere performing of the MOD duties leaves the teachers dog-tired at the end of the day. As records matter the most to the administrators, in most schools the role of the MOD is relegated to submitting a report.
The Association is unable to comprehend the rationale behind engaging a teacher 17 hours non-stop. Even lady teachers are not exempted. Now teachers must skip classes to discharge the MOD duties as laid out in the circular. Whether the management wants the MOD to perform his teaching duties in addition to the MOD duties is not clear from the circular. As every teacher is likely to get the MOD work twice in a month, their academic work is likely to suffer. Besides, does Samiti expect a teacher who did 17 hours of work the previous day to perform his regular duties effectively on the following day? Does the Samiti expect the lady teachers also to be up and present on the grounds at 5.30 in the morning and go to bed only after 10.30 at night after taking the roll call of all houses? Are the teachers inexhaustible machines?
All the duties of the MOD are supervisory in nature. They oversee/monitor the work of all other staff – there is hardly any new job for them to do. The PT teachers, in fact, take attendance at the beginning of their morning and evening sessions. The morning assembly is conducted in the presence of teachers, vice-principal and principal. The breakfast and other meal time are supervised by the HMs/AHMs. The remedial classes/supervisory classes are conducted by the concerned teachers. The night roll call is taken by the HMs. The duty of the MOD is to oversee all these and ‘report’. The 6-page report hardly reflects the spirit behind the introduction of the MOD system. By reducing the teacher’s role to gathering the list of present and absent teachers and students at various places and various times house-wise/gender-wise, it has made the ‘true purpose’ behind the imposition of this duty on teachers very clear – i.e. to physically check the presence and absence of teachers and students on campus. By and large the MOD steps into the shoes of a non-existent assistant to the vice-principal and the principal. Thanks to the exemplary obedience of the Navodya staff and their clever handling by the management the coffers of the central government will remain safe.
The Samiti seems to put aside the primary functions of teachers as ‘running’ the vidyalyas has become its primary concern. The CCE introduced by the CBSE demands a lot of teachers’ attention to their work as most of them are not well-equipped to deal with the challenges and not trained enough. Against the middleclass background of teachers and a very ordinary training imparted to them before they join the profession, the holistic development of child has become a challenge now. The elite management shows its disregard for the CCE by still setting benchmarks for teachers and ordering them to meet the targets fixed, ignoring the difficulties of teachers who work in educationally backward areas. Comparisons are made and teachers are served memos for their ‘inability’. The need of the hour is to revamp the system, prepare the teachers to cope up with the challenges posed by the CCE, encourage honesty and show the world that learning is fun at Navodaya Vidyalayas and young Navodayans are a pride of the nation. Is the Samiti gearing itself to providing proper guidance and extending a helping hand to the schools in this direction? What is it that worries it the most?
Do we need one more supervisor over the staff who spend half their time on the campus only supervising? Doesn’t it shows the absence of trust and the failure of the system to nurture a culture where staff of all cadres perform the duties expected of them sincerely? Does this kind of supervision for record’s sake ensure efficiency and effective functioning of the school? Does this not provide a chance to a few insensible principals to overexploit the staff?
The staff of NVS have had enough. The Association requests the Samiti not to take the silent compliance of teachers for granted any more. It opposes any attempt to overburden the teachers further. Hence, it demands the dispensing of MOD system forthwith as the soundness of a structure does not depend on the growing number of supervisors.
Thanking you
Yours sincerely
Jagdish Rai L.B.Reddy
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