Punjab issues guidelines to stop harassment of women teachers

"The department has issued a detailed circular, as in the education department large number of female teachers have to work in schools located in remote areas especially as single teacher in primary schools," an official spokesman said here today.

It becomes an added responsibility to check physical or emotional harassment of teachers and such incidents have to be tackled with "iron hand", he said.

Instructions have been issued that in remote rural villages efforts should be made not to post women teachers in schools and priority should be given to male teachers for such postings, he said.

He said that if in a village primary school, single lady teacher was posted, it should be located in 'Aanganwari' centre and if such schools were away from the centres, village Panchayat should be requested to shift the school to a suitable location.

The instructions said that lady teacher should not be asked to sit in the office during the odd hours before or after school timings for filling reports.

It should be ensured that no single lady teacher is posted in schools where all teachers are male.

Members of management committees or panchayats should not pass any objectionable comments on lady teachers and at the time of closing of school, principal and management would exercise vigil to ensure that no one harasses the teacher outside the school, he said.