Minister tells CS to exempt school faculty from non-teaching duties

Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains has written to the Chief Secretary to pass instructions to departments concerned to permanently exempt teachers from non-teaching duties citing Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act.

Section 27 of the RTE Act prohibits the deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes, allowing only for specific assignments such as decennial population census, natural calamities or election duties. The purpose of this section is to make sure teachers can maximise their time spent teaching and enhancing classroom experience.

These diktats have been issued as the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of some districts had recently asked teachers to fan out in agriculture fields and check stubble burning in their respective areas. This development had led to protests with the teaching fraternity complaining that the orders ran contrary to the Chief Minister’s assurances “that teachers will never be deployed on non-teaching assignments”.

The orders were withdrawn after strong protests were lodged by the teachers. They had complained that they would not be able to complete the syllabus of the children if they were put on such duties.

More than 400 teachers, including women, in Gurdaspur itself were given stubble-burning assignments.

The letter reads, “I wish to place on record that teachers are not just ordinary government employees. They are the torchbearers of knowledge and values, entrusted with the sacred responsibility of shaping the future of Punjab. To pull them out of classrooms and treat them as an easily available ‘tail-end’ workforce for miscellaneous administrative tasks is an injustice not only to them but also to children, whose right to education gets compromised.”

It further adds, “I do understand that there are times when urgent work arises and extra manpower is needed. But even then, teachers cannot be the first and easy option. Their presence in classrooms is non-negotiable. If, in rare and compelling circumstances, a district officer or any other department feels the unavoidable need to engage some teachers for some duty, it must be done with a prior and written permission of the Education Department. It is in this right that I request you to issue clear and categorical directions to all administrative departments and district authorities that teachers are not to be assigned any non-teaching duties, except for those permitted under Section 27 of the RTE Act.”

Amanbir Singh Goryana, co-convenor of the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha, an organisation which was spearheading the fight, said the teaching community welcomed “the education minister’s instructions”.