Team Herald
SANGUEM: Most schools punish students who arrive late to school; some schools even send the tardy children back home with a chastising note for their parents. At the Government Primary School in Sanguem’s Wadem village, however, the students were forced to return home without attending class on Friday, as none of their teachers managed to turn up on time.
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While the school starts at 7.45 am, none of the three teachers had arrived for duty even by 9 am. As a result, the school children were seen having a gala time, playing outside, without supervision until 8.30 am. A few worried parents who waited around for the teachers to arrive, informed local pancha Chandan Unandkar at around 8.45 am.
It then came to light that this was not a one-off incident, but three of the four teachers of the school arrive at 8.15 am everyday, because the first bus to the village only reaches the school at that time, said Unandkar. “If the bus is delayed for any reason, the teachers reach even later,” he added.
“The situation is usually managed by the fourth teacher, who reaches the school sharp at 7.30 every day. Today, that teacher is on leave, and that is how we found that the other teachers arrive at the school at least half an hour after it starts,” said a parent, who was taking his child back home.
The teachers finally arrived at 9.15 am, and said they cannot help their tardiness as the bus was the only form of transportation available to them, and if the bus is late, they are inevitably late. The excuse did not go down too well with the parents.
“This is not an acceptable response; the teachers should make alternate arrangements to ensure they reach the school at 7.45 am from the New Year. If this tardiness continues, we will be forced to complain to the Education Department,” said a parent.
