The second order stands nullified in the fourth phase of the lockdown. On March 27, the Union government barred all employers from non-payment of salaries to employees which led to school associations appealing to parents to pay schools fees so that teacher salaries could be paid. On April 27, the UP government prohibited all schools from hiking fees. Low and irregular attendance, lack of attention by students the fear of technology (especially among older teachers), poor internet connectivity, and in most cases, the added pressure of household chores, have made online teaching a dreaded activity for many teachers. “Online classes might last for four hours but we are required to put in almost the same amount of time preparing assignments which are not just useful but also pretty”, she said. One teacher from Kanpur told THE WEEK that her school principal had made it mandatory to ‘decorate’ assignment sheets in a particular manner. Many schools also had no clear markers for how much they were trying to achieve through this changed process. The suddenness with which teachers have been plunged into online teaching amid the lockdown means they did it with little preparation. The association which Agarwal heads draws membership from 140 schools catering to children from different socio-economic families. However till a formal complaint is not made, we cannot do anything”, he says. Many female teachers are extremely conscious about what they are wear and how they are sit in front of the screen. Some teachers have spoken to me of mental trauma. “Students have been using language, expressions and gestures which must not be used before anyone, let alone a teacher. Though no formal complaints have been made, Anil Agarwal, chairperson of the state’s Unaided Private Schools Association, says that such issues have come to him through ‘multiple sources’. The online teaching process has left teachers overworked and also open to abusive behaviour from students.