Kolkata, Dec 23 (IANS): From the next academic year onwards, there will be stricter attendance rules for teachers at all state-run junior high schools and secondary schools in West Bengal.

The same rule will be applicable for all the state-aided schools in Bengal.

According to a notification issued by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), from the next academic year, the teachers will have to be present at their respective school 10 minutes ahead of the beginning of the scheduled school hours.

The scheduled school hour in the junior high schools and secondary schools in West Bengal will continue to begin at 10.50 a.m., and the teachers will now have to be present at their respective schools by 10.40 a.m.

As per the notification, any teacher registering his or her attendance after 10.40 a.m. will be marked “late” for the day. In case the teachers join school after 11.15 a.m., they will be marked “absent” for the day.

As per the notification, the 10-minute period between 10.40 a.m. and 10.50 a.m. will be mandatorily scheduled as “prayer period”, where the attendance of all the teachers and non-teaching staff will be mandatory.

The notification also said that all teachers will have to be mandatorily present at the school till 4 p.m. even if his or her scheduled period is over before that.

There will also be restrictions on the use of mobile phones or blue-tooth devices inside classrooms.

Smartphones as “teaching aids” can be used in the classrooms only after obtaining written permission from the higher authorities.