A controversial order from the Sasaram Municipal Corporation in Bihar has sparked a major backlash from the local teaching community. The directive mandates teachers in government educational institutions to take on the additional responsibility of monitoring stray animals and dogs, a move widely condemned as misplaced and demeaning to their profession.
Municipal Order Triggers Outrage
The directive, issued by the Sasaram Municipal Corporation, requires heads of government schools and colleges to nominate a nodal officer from among their teaching staff. These nominated teachers are expected to report, coordinate, and monitor compliance related to stray animal control, with their mobile numbers to be shared for this purpose. The municipal administration has also established a dedicated control room to receive complaints and updates from these teachers regarding the movement and menace of stray animals.
Defending the decision, Municipal Commissioner Vikas Kumar stated that the instruction was issued in compliance with directions from the additional director of the urban development and building department in Patna. He explained that all institutional heads under the corporation's limits were informed as part of a coordinated effort to strengthen stray animal management. Sources indicate this directive follows observations made by the Supreme Court in a suo motu writ petition, which directed state governments to ensure strict, time-bound measures for effective stray animal management.
Teachers Call Directive a 'Cruel Joke'
The order has been met with sharp criticism and resentment from educators. A principal of an affiliated college within the Sasaram municipal limits, speaking anonymously, revealed he had outright refused to nominate a nodal officer. "Teachers are appointed and paid to impart education, not to perform duties related to monitoring stray dogs and animals," he asserted.
Echoing this sentiment, a woman headmistress described the directive as a "cruel joke" on the teaching fraternity. She highlighted that teachers are already overburdened with numerous non-teaching assignments, which include:
- Voter list revision and election duty
- Distribution of voter slips
- Caste census work
- Pulse Polio vaccination campaigns
- Various other administrative responsibilities
She argued that adding stray animal monitoring to this list is both unjustified and insulting to teachers across the state.
Concerns Over Education Quality and Role Clarity
Beyond the insult, educators have raised serious practical concerns. They argue that such extraneous duties divert their attention from core academic responsibilities, which could adversely affect the quality of education. The teaching community strongly believes that stray animal management is a civic issue that should be handled by trained municipal staff and veterinary professionals, not by educators whose primary role is teaching.
The protest underscores a growing tension between the teaching profession's defined role and the increasing imposition of non-academic governmental duties. Teachers in Sasaram are now standing firm, demanding respect for their professional expertise and a focus on their fundamental mission of educating students.
