Govt teachers deputed to check farm fires in Gurdaspur

Despite the fact that the Chief Minister (CM) and Education Minister have repeatedly assured the teaching community that they will not be put on non-teaching duties, the Gurdaspur administration has “appointed” nearly 400 of them as “nodal officers” to check stubble burning.

The development has irked the teaching fraternity which has planned to lodge protests in this regard.

Deputy Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh, however, said that not only teachers, staff from other government departments had been assigned similar duties. “Teachers, in particular, have a good knowledge of the local topography and, hence, are in a better position to check the menace. We have to collectively fight the residue-fire,” he said.

The teachers’ duties have commenced from September 26 and go on till November 30.

Amanbir Singh Goraya, co-convener of the Sanjha Adhaypak Morcha, said, “Teaching is our basic responsibility. If the government pulls us out from our primary duty, how will we be able to complete the syllabus of the students? Consequently, if the examination results are not satisfactory, we are reprimanded. If we report cases of burning, we will be inviting the wrath of the farmers. We are not the only losers in this situation; the children too will be the sufferers. This task is certainly out of our job-description. The administration should do a re-think,” he said. Goraya said the teachers had been verbally told to file complaints against the erring farmers.

Prabhjit Singh Bajwa, a teacher, said, “Irate farmers will be pulling us up if we report them as has happened in the past. If we do not report the fires, we face notices from the government. Crucial teaching time spent on these additional duties detracts teachers from their main responsibilities.”

Teachers’ unions claim the government comes down harshly on the teaching community if the results are not above par. “If we remain absent from our schools for more than two months, as is going to be the case now, the results are bound to be below par. Our role should be assigned to spread awareness among farmers. This too should be after school hours,” said a union leader.