Teachers play watch guards outside containment zones

 Naina Mishra

 Tribune News Service

 Chandigarh, September 19

 School teachers are facing a tough time playing watch guards for persons quarantined at their homes. As many as 25 Junior Basic Teachers (JBTs) have been deployed on 'covid duty' outside containment zones where they have been asked to keep a vigil for up to seven hours by sitting outside the barricades.

These teachers have been deputed in the south division, where there are maximum cases of Covid-19 and over 20 containment zones.

“We haven’t been provided with any necessary equipment for doing this duty which starts at 6 am and ends at 2 pm. There is no place to sit and we have to ask for even chairs to sit. We haven’t been provided with any safety equipment either. After all this, I have to prepare online material for my students and send the material to students. The work has almost doubled because of covid duty,” said a government school teacher.

Another government school teacher said, “No safety equipment has been provided to us while on covid duty. We are made to sit outside the barricades around five buildings that have been sealed.”

Swaran Singh Kamboj of UT Cadre Education Employees Union said, “Teachers have to go in the night hours also in the containment zones along with police personnel. Besides, they have to take online classes too. Duties like these are a predicament for teachers. It is shocking that teachers are deputed in non-teaching duties. There will be many containment zones, so does this mean teachers will be deputed there on a regular basis?”

SDM South Satish Jain said, “This is an emergency situation and huge workforce is required for such duties. There is a required of 200 personnel for managing the containment zones. As schools are closed, teachers are partially free and hence we have deputed some of them on covid duty.”