Even as the State government is planning to rope in teachers as enumerators for the Social and Educational Survey (popularly known as ‘caste census’), which is likely to begin in February, academics and teachers have raised serious objections to this saying it would affect school work ahead of examinations.Although the State government had initially said field staff from its departments, retired teachers, government staff and unemployed graduates would be enlisted for the survey, it is now considering roping in teachers due to the shortage of manpower. During a meeting on Friday, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and attended by Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee among other officials, it was decided to consider roping in teachers as the survey would require 71,577 enumerators, excluding Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike limits, an official press release said.
Education Department officials said that this, besides causing inconvenience to teachers during examination, would be in “gross violation” of section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The section states that “no teacher shall be deployed for non-educational purpose other than decennial population census, disaster relief duties or duties relating to elections to the local authority or the State legislatures or Parliament.”
To this, Mr. Mukherjee said the government would examine if there were provisions for the government to look into the rules framed by the State. “The process will be vetted by the Law Department before we take a decision,” he said.
Karnataka State Primary Teachers’ Association president Basavaraj Gurikar said it was best suited if teachers were kept out of ‘caste census’. “Besides being a violation of RTE act, it would also severely affected school work and have an adverse impact on the learning of children,” he said.
