A well-intentioned Supreme Court directive aimed at protecting children from stray dogs has spiraled into a major controversy, pitting educational authorities against teachers in Delhi and Mumbai. The issue, which began with a court order, escalated through bureaucratic circulars and was supercharged by viral misinformation, leading to protests and even a teacher's suspension.
From Court Order to Classroom Confusion
The chain of events started on November 7, 2025, when the Supreme Court, hearing a case titled "City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price," issued time-bound directions to secure premises like schools and hospitals from stray dog risks. States and Union Territories were instructed to ensure compliance.
The administrative machinery moved swiftly. The Ministry of Education's Department of Higher Education sent a letter asking institutions to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate campus safety, upkeep, and municipal liaison, along with promoting awareness and first-aid preparedness. The CBSE followed with a similar advisory for affiliated schools.
In Delhi, the Directorate of Education's Caretaking Branch issued a circular on December 5, seeking nominations and details of these nodal officers. This immediately drew objections from teacher unions, who saw it as an imposition of non-teaching duties.
The Viral Rumor: "Teachers Counting Stray Dogs"
The situation intensified when social media transformed the bureaucratic term "nodal officer" into a sensational claim. Instagram posts alleged that the Delhi government had "assigned school teachers" to conduct a city-wide count of stray dogs. This narrative, framing it as an official deployment for census duty, spread rapidly.
The Delhi DoE was forced to publicly deny these claims. Veditha Reddy, Delhi's Director of Education, labeled the rumor "completely false, fabricated and baseless," clarifying that no official order asked teachers to count dogs. The department filed a police complaint, and the cyber cell began investigating the spread of this misinformation.
Amid this uproar, a Delhi government school teacher, identified as Sant Ram from Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Subhash Nagar, was suspended. While the official order did not specify a reason, reports suggest it was for allegedly spreading false information about the circular. Education Minister Ashish Sood stated that while protest is a democratic right, spreading misleading information would have consequences.
Teachers Push Back: Mumbai and the RTE Act
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, government school teachers firmly refused to take on the nodal officer role for stray-dog control. Teacher unions argued that this directive unfairly pushed civic management onto educators. The Maharashtra Progressive Teachers' Association (MPTA) called it an erosion of professional dignity.
Tanaji Kamble, MPTA state president, emphasized that stray dog control, cleanliness, and security are municipal duties. Teachers invoked the Right to Education (RTE) Act, specifically Section 27, which restricts pulling teachers into non-school work except for decennial census, disaster relief, and elections.
Their core argument is that the term "coordination" often becomes a conduit for shifting accountability. Once a teacher's name is on the file, the school becomes the last stop for resolving issues that are fundamentally municipal responsibilities.
This incident highlights a persistent tension in the education system: the creeping expansion of teachers' duties beyond the classroom, often under labels like "coordination" or "nodal officer," which quietly crosses the boundaries set by the RTE Act. The controversy underscores the need for clear demarcation of roles to ensure teachers can focus on their primary mission: education.
