Teachers and school principals in Gujarat have expressed strong resentment over their appointment as booth nodal officers for the inauguration of 101 new meal distribution centres under the Shramik Annapurna Scheme. The programme is being organised by the state’s Labour, Skill Development and Employment Department.
The inauguration is scheduled for October 16. The assigned responsibilities, including cleaning, decoration, coordination and supervision, have raised concerns about disruption to regular classroom activities.Teachers and principals have been instructed to ensure that the centres are clean and decorated, coordinate with dignitaries attending the event and oversee arrangements with agencies responsible for meal distribution.
Teachers Raise Concerns Over Classroom DisruptionTeachers’ representatives have expressed concern that such assignments take educators away from their primary responsibility of teaching. They argue that these duties disrupt academic schedules and can adversely affect students’ learning.They maintain that teachers and principals should be allowed to focus on providing quality education instead of repeatedly being assigned administrative and event-related responsibilities.
The decision has drawn criticism from teachers and educational organisations, which say educators are increasingly being burdened with duties unrelated to teaching.They have cited previous assignments involving elections, census operations, government surveys, midday meal programmes and the organisation of public events.
Teachers allege that the administration relies on their disciplined approach to work to assign additional responsibilities, placing an unnecessary burden on schools and affecting their academic functioning.