For the past three days, primary school teachers in Andhra’s Prakasam district have been out on the streets, riding around nearly deserted streets to make sure nobody violates the lockdown. School teachers in some of the worst-affected districts in Andhra Pradesh have been roped in to assist revenue and police officials in performing essential duties involved in tackling COVID-19.
District collectors and education officers in Guntur, Kurnool and Prakasam districts, among others, have instructed Mandal Education Officers (MEOs) and Mandal Revenue Officers (MROs) to assign COVID-19 duties to teachers and to monitor them.
Virat Babu, a teacher from Kondapi mandal in Prakasam district, is on the 7 am to 1 pm shift on parapolice duty. He rides his two-wheeler between two nearby villages assigned to him, making sure people do not roam outside unnecessarily, and that shops are closed after the stipulated time.
Explaining his work, Virat Babu says, “Two of us (teachers) have been assigned 2 villages which are 7 kms apart. We go around as a mobile team on our own vehicles, spending about 2 hours in each village. If we see anyone who is out on the roads, we talk to them, and if they shouldn’t be out, we ask them to return home.”
“It’s difficult for teachers to suddenly do all this work they’re not used to,” Virat Babu says. “We are also afraid of putting ourselves at risk by going out. We have been given masks, and I am taking extra precautions before entering my house. Even if we are afraid, we have to go as it is a service,” he said.
Around 2,200 teachers across Prakasam district have been deployed, after the district saw a huge spike in COVID-19 cases. As of Sunday night, Prakasam district recorded 23 positive cases. In Kurnool district, which saw a huge spike on Sunday, recording 53 cases as of Sunday night, Physical Education Teachers (PET) and other teachers have been asked to report to their local police and revenue officials respectively.
Wherever additional support is needed, teachers are being recruited to perform tasks like creating awareness on precautionary measures, assisting health workers in quarantine facilities, and keeping records. According to district officials, teachers are being provided with masks and mobility passes.
Only teachers below 45 years of age and those who are not suffering any illness have been asked to report. In Prakasam, only male primary school teachers have been called in for duty, while in Guntur, around 300 Physical Education Teachers (PETs), and nearly 120 male teachers of biological science have been called.
“PETs have been posted at checkposts and other locations to enforce social distancing protocols. Some biological science teachers are handling door-to-door awareness programs communicating necessary information,” said Guntur District Education Officer (DEO) Ganga Bhavani.
At a time when salaries of government staff have been partially deferred, many of these teachers are not only risking infection for themselves and their families, but also spending on commuting from their own pockets to perform services to deal with the pandemic.