State government clears smoke signal for teachers

Updated on: Monday, March 14, 2011

Surveys around the world have for long shown a strong correlation between teachers smoking during school hours and adolescent smoking. While smoking or the use of tobacco in other forms is prohibited for teachers in Maharashtra, carrying cigarettes or tobacco is not. But the government now plans to make this illegal as well.

To ensure that teachers fulfill their duty as role models for their students, especially when it comes to the anti-tobacco movement, the home department is planning stringent action against teachers found with cigarettes or other tobacco products on school or college premises.

“I will be writing a letter to the law and judiciary department to examine whether teachers can be prosecuted for possessing tobacco products on the premises of educational institutions,” said minister of state for home Satej Patil, who also holds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) portfolio.

The idea was mooted by an NGO in a meeting on the anti-tobacco drive in the state. “Teachers play a key role in the life of students. If teachers consume tobacco products at educational institutes, it adversely impacts students. We demanded in the meeting that such teachers be punished,” said Varsha Vidya Vilas, general secretary, Nashabandhi Mandal, which works in the state against tobacco consumption.

Earlier, Patil had initiated a drive where school and college principals were authorized to levy fines on paan-bidi shops located within 100 metres of educational campuses.

“The drive will not be successful unless teachers themselves refrain from consuming tobacco products, at least on the campus. But taking action against errant teachers is not possible as of now as there is no such provision in law,” Vilas said. “Hence, the government should make rules enabling the administration to punish errant teachers,” he said.

State government clears smoke signal for teachers

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