Agartala, Nov. 8: Chief minister Manik Sarkar has launched a scathing attack on the deteriorating values of teachers and lack of work culture among the fraternity in Tripura.

Sarkar was speaking at a convention of schoolteachers organised by the Bikram Sheela Educational Society at Prajna Bhawan here this morning.

The chief minister’s criticism, which came in the wake of state minister for higher education Anil Sarkar’s description of teachers as “cheats and touts”, has sparked a controversy of sorts.

Sarkar said the teachers’ reputation as respected members of society had been dented to an extent and urged them to restore the faith of people, particularly students, in them.

The chief minister recalled his days as a student and cited anecdotes to describe the glorious days when teachers maintained excellent personal relations with pupils and served selflessly for the welfare of the students.

He expressed concern over the non-existence of the earlier practice of teachers taking the students for a picnic or an educational excursion.

“I have found teachers absent from school during my visits also and was told they had left after taking their routine classes. I have also seen teachers in a leading girls’ school in Agartala keep the school field dirty deliberately so that students do not take part in games after school hours, which is very unfortunate,” the chief minister said.

“For almost each and every work, there is a demand for recruitment of new staff. But how can it help if the teachers think only of salaries and allowances and earning money through private tuition?” the chief minister asked.

Sarkar’s caustic comments have triggered a controversy as the majority of a total of 34,034 teachers working in 3,909 schools spread across the state have traditionally been affiliated with pro-Left teachers associations of the ruling CPM.

Even though there has been no formal protest, the issue has become a matter of concern for leaders of the pro-CPM teachers’ associations.

In 2004, Anil Sarkar, the minister for school education, had called upon members of elected panchayats, nagar panchayats, the Agartala Municipal Council and the guardians at large to keep a tab on the activities of teachers. Sarkar had then put out advertisements, unsigned by the director or any senior official of the education department, for the purpose.

The education minister’s recent description of teachers as “cheats and touts”, in an interview with a local newspaper, has provoked protests but the chief minister’s comment is being viewed with more seriousness.

“The chief minister’s speech was an emotional reaction but he has also made valid points which we will take into cognisance,” said a senior leader of the pro-CPM Tripura Government Teachers Association.