Agartala: The Tripura government, in a strongly worded circular here on Tuesday said that it will not allow its teachers to take private tuitions for students.

"If any government school teacher is found involved in private tuition for money, severe action would be taken against the erring tutor," said the circular, issued by the school education department.

A senior Tripura school education department official said "There are many reports that the teachers of government and government-aided schools have engaged themselves in private tuitions, thereby resorting to earning money and hoodwinking the students during schooling hours."

"Taking private tuitions and similar such practices goes against the provisions of the service conduct rules in force, as the teachers are within the ambit of the said rules," the official added.

According to a report of the Delhi-based NGO Annual Status of Education Report Centre, 77.3 percent students from class 4 to class 8 in Tripura take paid tuitions, followed by 76 percent in West Bengal and 55.8 in Bihar.

According to the government notification, private tuitions by government school teachers have been prohibited under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which became operative with effect from April 1, 2010.

Meanwhile, Tripura school education minister Tapan Chakraborty said "School teachers who take private tuitions for students deprive society. This is a punishable offence."

"The state government has been gradually expanding educational infrastructure in the state. All the 43,000 school teachers must cooperate with the government to improve the quality of basic education in the state," the minister said while addressing a conference of Tripura Government Teachers' Association (TGTA).

Urging the TGTA leadership to come forward to stop private tuitions, Chakraborty said that while the Tripura government despite its limited resources has been spending 20 percent of its budgetary allocation in the educational sector, the Central government's expenses are 4.8 percent.

He said "The Tripura government has decided to recruit 21,000 school teachers but failed to do so due to severe financial crisis in the state in view of the erroneous recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission."

Tripura sought around Rs.27,000 crore but the 13th Finance Commission had recommended the sanctioning of about Rs.16,350 crore in 2009. Its report was accepted by the central government last year. IANS