Teacher's say no fixed duty hours for them as calls galore from parents at all hours

Mrudula Kamath name changed has had a crazy busy schedule since Monday starting work at 630 am and going on for 10 hours excluding the time spent on travelling Kamath is a higher secondary teacher in an Andheri school But her story resonates with most teachers across Mumbairsquos schools They are a stressed lot managing online and offline classes apart from ensuring that Covid19 norms are followed on their school premises AMID much enthusiasm on school campuses teachers say their work no longer ends with the last bell as the phone keeps ringing with calls from students and parents To add to it teachers have to travel long distances with limited access to local trainsA staffer checks the temperature of a student at a Dadar school PicsAshish RajeldquoThe classes for the first batch of students begin at 7 am in school but teachers and other staff have to reach before 630 to be ready on all spots of the premises to ensure studentsrsquo entry to school is safe with social distancing hand sanitisation temperature checks This has to be done for each batch as they come in and go back The last batch goes at 5 pm Thankfully I live nearby so can be home in just halfanhour but so many of my colleagues spend two more hours or so travelling Those having no train pass are the most troubled lotrdquo said Kamath underscoring that the government must review its local train decision at least for teachers who are in the waiting period for the second doseIn some schools teachers from junior classes have been told to report to the school to ensure adherence to Covid norms by students PicSatej ShindeMany young teachers said vaccination for their age group started late and getting slots was difficult initially Those who were down with Covid took their first dose due to the gap rule On the first day itself many teachers were fined for ticketless travelling on locals ldquoHow does the government expect a teacher living in Virar or Dombivli to reach a school in Andheri or Thane daily without boarding a local train The time and energy spent on this are going to hamper the quality of their workrdquo said Shivnath Darade from Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad who has repeatedly written to the government to allow teachers to board local trains But travelling is just one part of the teachersrsquo burdenNo fixed duty hoursldquoOn Monday I received calls from a few parents in the evening just to ensure that their wards were okay in school Initially I thought that the calls were only for day one but this was soon cleared as I saw myself attending doubts of students and parents on WhatsApp call or emails much after the school hoursrdquo said a teacher from a Dadar school To facilitate online classes schools had shared teachersrsquo numbers with students and parents in the new normal but it has become a new challenge ldquoNow even as schools have restarted that old mode of communication continues by many especially those who are continuing with the online moderdquo said a teacher from a Mulund schoolStudents of Shri Vibhuti Narayan High School return home on the first day of reopening Teachers say their work extends beyond classes PicSatej ShindeBogged down by extra workSeveral schools have opted for dualteaching where a teacher is attending to students simultaneously It is either with a camera setup or having a laptop with a webcam ready on the table while a teacher is taking a class in school ldquoThis reduces the additional time spent on online teaching But it also becomes confusing at times For example in the case of science or mathematics in a traditional class we would explain the terms on the board whereas in online class there will be a sharedscreen presentation Setting a camera to show explanations drawn on the board is not really engaging enough for online studentsrdquo said a teacher from a school in Parel Teachers also said that their way of knowing whether or not students have understood a certain concept changes with the mode of teachingWhen teachers of higher secondary are caught in so many such issues those teaching lower classes are shocked to know that they are called to schools even as their teaching is yet online ldquoWe are told that the school requires manpower on campus to manage children coming in batches We have to manage our online teaching from school nowrdquo said a teacher from a school in Mahim adding that they too have to endure travelling woes with this