The Orissa High Court has issued a stern rebuke to the state government over the widespread practice of pulling teachers out of classrooms for administrative duties. The court emphasized that such deployments severely compromise the fundamental right to education of students and violate statutory laws.
Court Takes Suo Motu Note of Severe Teacher Shortage
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M S Raman, was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on December 23, 2025. The petition, filed by Bijaya Ram Das, secretary of a local organisation, highlighted a glaring example: an upper primary school in Cuttack district with 112 students was functioning with just three teachers, including the headmaster.
Advocate Anup Kumar Mohapatra represented the petitioner. The PIL contended that teachers are routinely assigned the role of Cluster Resource Centre Coordinators (CRCCs), forcing them to be absent from their schools for nearly half of each month. This disrupts continuous teaching and learning processes.
A State-Wide Phenomenon Violating the RTE Act
The court observed that this is not an isolated incident but a recurring feature across Odisha. The bench specifically referred to Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. This section prohibits the deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes, barring a few specific exceptions.
"The authorities cannot violate the mandate provided therein," the bench stated, pointing out the legal embargo. The judges noted that while the state argued that CRCC duties aim to improve educational quality, the execution was flawed. "We appreciate the manifest intention, but simultaneously, we cannot overlook the fact that the aforementioned exercise cannot be undertaken at the expense of the seamless imparting of education to the children," the court remarked.
Court's Directives and Future Hearing
Acknowledging the systemic nature of the problem, the High Court has directed the Odisha government to file a detailed affidavit. The state must provide:
- The total number of CRCCs in the state.
- Details of their functioning hours and the extent of teacher participation.
- Copies of all executive instructions issued regarding these deployments.
The bench suggested that such resource centre activities could be conducted after school hours or during holidays, as removing teachers during instructional time "was never envisioned by the legislators." The matter has been scheduled for its next hearing on January 13, 2026.
This judicial intervention underscores the critical tension between administrative planning and on-ground teaching requirements, putting the spotlight firmly on the state's duty to uphold the Right to Education.
