‘Studies hit in schools as teachers assigned non-academic work’

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, December 27

Study is affected in 235 government primary schools in the district due to engagement of around 70 per cent of teaching staff for non-academic duties such as electoral work, a teachers’ association said on Tuesday.

“The non-academic works such as field visits and door-to-door surveys are a hurdle in completing the academic course in time,” said Rameshwar Yadav, general secretary of Haryana Primary Teachers’ Association (PTA) district unit.

Noting that the schools are already short of teaching staff, he said the loss of classroom studies was a cause of concern. Chatar Singh, president of Haryana PTA district unit, said the affected schools include around 85 Model Sanskriti Schools that were upgraded to improve education standard.

District Education Officer Asha Dahiya said government schoolteachers were officially bound to do election related duty. About 50,000 students study in primary schools in the district.

“Many teachers have been assigned the job of Booth-Level Officer for updating electoral rolls almost on permanent basis, forcing them to miss teaching work for at least two weeks in a month,” said Premwati, a parent. Sanju Devi, another parent, said prevailing situation has forced many parents to arrange private tuition for their children.

A teacher, on condition of anonymity, said: “Engagement of teachers ( Junior Basic Training i.e. JBT) in non-teaching assignments like electoral work and Parivaar Pehchan Patra (PPP) has not only hindered disposal of teaching work, but also caused problems to the staff by spending time and energy on duties not related to their field.”