‘To arrange for someone outside a company to do work or provide goods for that company,’ is the Oxford English Dictionary definition for ‘outsource.’ In practice, outsourcing occurs when a company hires another company within or outside the country, among others, for cutting costs.
The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in India catering mainly to business operations of multinational corporations is a prime example of such arrangement and it is considered a win-win situation for both entities – the outsourcer and the ‘outsourcee.’
A more or less similar situation exists in Nagaland and many other states in India in the teaching profession where “teacher appointed by the government illegally ‘appoints’ another person to work in her/his place for some consideration.” There are instances of such practice in other professions, but it is considered most prevalent or rather most highlighted in teaching.
However, in this case, it’s not a win-win situation for all stakeholders. Most importantly, the worst sufferers are the students – who are educated only in name and having dramatic ramifications for the future.
In a report titled, ‘Getting the Right Teachers into the Right Schools: Managing India’s Teacher Workforce’ released last year, the World Bank called the phenomenon of proxy teachers an "alarming problem". While it was common in remote and rural areas, the practices were also found in urban areas. The extent of the practice of proxy teachers could not be determined and though openly discussed during focus group discussions, in several states, people talked “in hushed tones about proxy teachers,” the report noted.
The World Bank said that such practices are possible because of the “absence of effective monitoring and low probability of disciplinary action;” all state governments have provisions for disciplinary action, but it becomes very difficult to indict a teacher and take any serious action further encouraging the practice.
Some of the reasons cited were - a different interpretation of rules, pressure from teachers’ unions, humanitarian reasons; while officer or committee considering dereliction of duties, among others, have to keep the political affiliations of the teacher before taking a decision, the report said.
In such a scenario, it was a welcome break to read reports that Nagaland has begun “crackdown on proxy teachers” and cleanse the education system of such practices.
The crackdown began with the State’s Directorate of School Education ordering 16 teachers to join their places of posting in Kiphire district and publication of their names in local dailies.
Terming the situation is “very grave,” Principal Director, School Education, Shanavas C, IAS was quoted as saying by The Hindu that the steps “would send a message to other teachers who have been guilty of such unethical practice.”
To ensure compliance, the directorate asked the teachers to email their photographs with the school building in the background as well as photographs while taking classes every day from November 11 the end of the academic session this year, the report said. They were also made to sign undertaking countersigned by the head of the institute, Village Education Committee, and district education officer or sub-divisional education officer to comply with the order.
The proxies were detected when the Principal Director undertook the inspection of schools in the district from November 4 to 7 as per the report. District education officials were reportedly assigned to survey the schools in their areas of operation toward purging the system of proxy teachers.
Periodically, such practices are highlighted by students’ unions and other stakeholders, often accompanied by directives, but the problem persists.
The recent crackdown could be just a tip in the iceberg of the thriving ‘outsourcing industry’ in Nagaland. The initiative, therefore, must be implemented in other districts as well as in other professions. Different teachers’ union must also collectively address the problem with the clear understanding that teaching is too vital a profession to be tampered with – for the sake of present and future generation.
