Chennai: The district education department has suspended two teachers of a government lower primary school in Tamil Nadu's Vellore corporation's premises for the delay in serving breakfast to children on time.
One of the suspended teachers is the headmistress of the school.
Under the Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers Breakfast Scheme, food has to be served between 8.15 a.m. and 8.45 a.m. As per the government order, the breakfast time can be extended to a maximum of five minutes but not beyond that at any cost, said the officials.
The delay in serving breakfast was found during a surprise inspection by Vellore district Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi at the school campus on Tuesday. Vellore district education department officials told IANS that when the district collector reached the school at 9 a.m. for a surprise inspection, she found students wandering around on the campus.
The students reportedly said that they were waiting for teachers, including the headmistress, to come to the school to serve breakfast.
When the collector asked students whether the delay in serving breakfast to them happens regularly, the students said it was a regular norm to serve breakfast only after two teachers come to the school.
The collector, according to district education officials, immediately issued suspension orders to the school teachers. Based on the collector’s directive, Chief Education Officer (CEO), C. Manimozhi passed an order suspending two teachers of the primary school, including its headmistress.
Both teachers have been serving in the school for more than five years.
“We have issued the suspension order to the teachers. We have also sought an explanation from them for the reason for their delay to come to school,” Ms. Manimozhi said, reports The Hindu.
Education officials said that the school was functioning for many decades within the civic body limits. At present, the school has around 25 students, mainly from poor families, with two teachers.
Later in the day, the collector inspected government housing quarters in the town where residents complained of irregular water supply. The collector directed civic officials to ensure regular water supply within its limits.
With agency inputs