Rotting roots of learning: Teacher absenteeism in UP’s schools betrays the promise of education
Teachers, the backbone of the education system, shoulder immense responsibility in shaping young minds. But when they fail to show up, an entire generation’s learning comes to a standstill. Uttar Pradesh’s government schools, once envisioned as sanctuaries of knowledge for the poor, are now decaying into hollow spaces where registers are filled but classrooms stand empty. The deep-rooted crisis of teacher absenteeism has corroded the very foundation of education in India’s most populous state, turning the constitutional right to education into a broken promise.The Allahabad High Court’s recent intervention has finally given voice to what rural parents have long suffered in silence. Calling for a “solid” and “practical” policy to ensure teachers’ presence in schools, the court declared that the absence of an effective attendance mechanism since Independence has gravely undermined poor children’s right to education. The observation, made by Justice Praveen Kumar Giri, came during the hearing of a petition filed by Indra Devi, a teacher suspended after being found absent during a surprise inspection in Banda district, as reported by PTI.
A system in freefall
The court’s words expose a wound festering for decades. Uttar Pradesh, which has over a million government school teachers, remains plagued by absenteeism, weak oversight, and a culture of impunity. For rural children, whose only access to learning comes from government institutions, each missing teacher represents a stolen day of literacy, a delayed future, and a fading dream.Indra Devi faced suspension after a surprise inspection by the district magistrate allegedly revealed her absence from the school. Justice Giri’s remarks were unambiguous: The right to education cannot survive if the teachers paid to uphold it are missing in action. The case of Indra Devi is just one in a long list of instances where accountability is conveniently sidestepped, and inspections are treated as exceptions rather than essentials.
Technology exists, accountability doesn’t
In an era where digital monitoring governs every sphere, from attendance logs in corporate offices to biometric entries in welfare schemes, it is baffling that the state’s education system still operates on outdated paper registers. The court’s order dated October 30 was unequivocal: “In the era of technology, the attendance of teachers should be recorded at the time prescribed under the Rules and Acts through virtual/electronic mode.”Yet the question looms large, why has it taken judicial intervention in 2025 to demand what should have been basic administrative protocol decades ago? While the state’s counsel informed the bench that a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary had been convened to review the issue, such perfunctory gestures mean little without structural implementation.
The hidden victims
Every absent teacher translates to dozens of students deprived of the education they are constitutionally entitled to. In villages across. Children, often first-generation learners, wait for teachers who never arrive, while parents, shackled by poverty and illiteracy, lack the means to demand accountability.The impact is particularly severe on girls. When schools remain dysfunctional, it is often the girl child who is withdrawn first to manage domestic chores or sibling care. Thus, absenteeism becomes not just an act of neglect but an accelerant of gender disparity.
Between leniency and lethargy
The High Court displayed measured pragmatism, noting that “some leniency could be shown for minor delays.” But its warning was sharp, habitual absenteeism cannot and must not be tolerated. This distinction is vital. Occasional delays are human; systemic dereliction is punishable. Yet for too long, leniency has been exploited as a cover for lethargy, with many teachers drawing full salaries without contributing a single lesson.The path forwardThe remedy lies not in new committees or circulars but in concrete, transparent action. The state must deploy real-time attendance systems linked to digital IDs, with salary disbursement contingent upon verified presence. Attendance dashboards, made publicly accessible, could empower local communities to track teachers’ presence daily. It is time the government realised that digital accountability is not a luxury; it is a necessity.The real question is: Can Uttar Pradesh finally root out the chronic absenteeism that has crippled its rural education system, or will it continue to drown in bureaucratic half-measures?(With inputs from PTI)
