Schoolteacher cannot be given duties outside purview of RTE Act, says HC

Notification asked them to conduct surveys, do other work

The Delhi High Court has said that principals and teachers cannot be asked by municipal corporations to perform duties outside the purview of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act and rules under it.

Justice C. Hari Shankar set aside several notifications issued by the corporations requiring the principals and teachers to conduct household survey and participate in preparation of the ward education register.

Calls it impermissible

“This court is constrained to take judicial notice of the fact that there is a prevalent practice, in recent times, of schools assigning to teachers duties and tasks not remotely connected to imparting of education. This, in the opinion of this court, is impermissible and unconscionable in equal measure,” the court said.

It added, “Education is a serious affair and teachers are justifiably regarded as discharging divine duties, nourishing and nurturing the minds of tomorrow. Single-minded devotion and blind pursuit of excellence must guide every educator. It is no less than an affront, therefore, to belabour teachers with tasks which deflect, detract and distract, from the noble task of imparting education.”

The court was hearing a petition filed by Akhil Delhi Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, a society comprising of teachers of schools run by municipal corporations, espousing their cause. It challenged the duties assigned to teachers which are not linked to education, including opening of bank accounts of children and linking the accounts with Aadhaar.