Guinness record for Andhra teacher

HYDERABAD: A school teacher in Andhra Pradesh claims to have set a new record by teaching continuously for 60 hours, finding just enough time to eat and freshen up in snatches, but sleeping not a wink.

A. Veeraiah, a retired teacher in the state's northern district of Karimnagar, taught English non-stop for 60 hours to students of the Zilla Parishad High School in Sircilla town, according to local newspaper reports on Wednesday.

Veeraiah started teaching school students on Saturday morning and continued non-stop till Monday evening. He delivered lectures of two hours each to 600 students in separate batches.

He thus claimed to have broken the Guinness Book world record of continuous teaching for 54 hours. Local people, the students and teachers at the school witnessed the feat.

"I had read somewhere that a person entered the Guinness Book of World Records by teaching continuously for 54 hours. So I thought of setting a new record," said Veeraiah, who plans to claim a place in the Guinness Book for himself.

Veeraiah, 60, who has 34 years of teaching behind him, had earlier taught non-stop for 25 hours. "It all started with a discussion among our colleagues on who could take classes for the longest time. I accepted the challenge and taught non-stop for 12 hours in 2001," he recalled.

Inspired by the appreciation he received, he kept bettering his own record, till he took classes without a break for 25 hours.

He said even after retiring from service four years ago, he continued teaching. "I will continue teaching as long as I can," said Veeraiah.

Courtesy: Times of India