Taking a tough stand against the teachers who are in the habit of chewing tobacco or consuming tobacco products, Maharashtra government today said such teachers could face dismissal from service

Taking a tough stand against the teachers who are in the habit of chewing tobacco or consuming tobacco products, Maharashtra government today said such teachers could face dismissal from service.

Talking to reporters here, state Education Minister Vinod Tawde said, "Those teachers, who, despite being told to stop consumption of tobacco products, continue with the habit, shall be dismissed from service."

He also said that to dissuade teachers from this habit, their promotions will be stopped and no awards and other facilities will be offered to them.



Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde

According to the minister, currently there are 5.42 lakh teachers in the state.

A notification recently issued by the Directorate of Primary Education based in Pune, states that some teachers consume tobacco products like kharra, paan and liquor even in the classrooms.

"It has been found out that such habits not only have adverse impact on teachers, but even the students are getting addicted to such vices," it said.

It added that this addiction is more widespread in rural parts of the state.

The notification comes in the wake of a complaint filed by Badlapur based (Thane district) Oriental Human Rights Protection Forum.

As per the government data, out of the 1,00,084 schools in Maharashtra, 67,616 schools are run by government and local bodies, there are 20,455 private aided schools, while 12,013 are unaided private schools.

Out of the total number of 1.61 crore students enrolled in the state, 68.60 lakh students are enrolled in government and local body schools, 64.96 lakh students are enrolled in private aided schools, whereas 28.29 lakh students are enrolled in private unaided schools.

Out of the 5.42 lakh teachers in the state, 2.74 lakh teachers are in government and local body schools, 1.81 lakh in private aided schools, while others are in private unaided schools.