PATNA, June 13 -- Close on the heels of banning private practice by government doctors to improve health services in government hospitals, the education department has now banned private tuition and coaching by the government school teachers, not the first time though. The government last banned such activities in 2024. The objective of both is the same - to ensure that doctors and teachers devote their full time and attention to serving government institutions they are employed with and for which they are paid. The education department has warned violating teachers of strict disciplinary action for breaching the code of conduct if they were found engaged in private coaching and tuition. In a letter to all district education officers (DEOs), director (secondary education) Sajjan R has said that teachers found engaged in commercial activities like tuition or coaching would face strong disciplinary action. "Ensure compliance that no teacher is engaged in tuition, coaching or other commercial educating activities, as it affects teaching in schools. Any teacher found engaged in such activities will be seen as breaching the code of conduct," he added in what is being viewed as an extension to the order to prevent coaching institutes from running with regular students during school hours. This is, however, not the first time the education department has taken a serious view of government school teachers engaged anywhere in commercial activities. Many of them have also been found missing from schools and dodging the biometric attendance system by marking their presence from several kilometres away. The 2023 ASER had also flagged poor attendance in schools and high prevalence of private tuition, which was then nearly 2.5 times the national average and pointed to lack of quality education in the government schools, though its prevalence was also found among private school students. In 2024 also, the education department had decided to crack down on government school teachers who take classes in private coaching institutions and asked all DMs and DEOs to inspect all schools at least twice a week. Instructions were given to immediately deduct the salary of teachers who are absent without reason and sought the list of teachers engaged with private coaching, tuition or other activities for action, as the department has received complaints regarding this. Now, the government has again woken up to check teachers' engagement beyond schools after forged attendance marked by them also surfaced from some districts amid reports that many of them were engaged with private coaching and tuition. "The government should stick to the earlier announcement of mandatory 75% attendance for availing various incentive schemes and taking board exams and implement it effectively. They were later diluted, but once honest attendance becomes compulsory, everything will fall in line. Compliance of attendance regulation will be easier through regular inspection, strengthening of school management committees and accountability of headmasters," said JD(U) MLC from Kosi teachers' constituency Sanjiv Kumar Singh. A senior academician, who did not want to be quoted, said that mushrooming coaching institutes were a manifestation of unmet needs of students due to the huge gap between the school/college curriculum and requirements of competitive exams. "The alignment is not there and that needs the focus. Unless the schools are wanted by students and teachers alike, search for alternatives will never die," he added....