The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday provided interim relief to the CBSE School Staff Welfare Association (CSSWA) from Census duty. This development has prompted many other private school teachers, who are seeking similar relief, to form informal groups and pool money to hire lawyers.
Background of the Case
Earlier in March, the Sikh Education Society (SES) had approached the high court after staff from its pharmacy college were assigned Census duty. They too were granted interim relief. With no such support from their educational institutes or other associations, many teachers are left to fend for themselves.
"While the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is threatening us with FIRs for not reporting to Census duty, school owners are doing nothing to defend us," teachers told TOI.
Teachers' Struggles
After the pharmacy college staff obtained interim relief, many teachers thought their school management would also knock on the court's doors. "For over a month, management of different schools did nothing beyond approaching local authorities with appeals. Now, many of us are pooling money to hire a lawyer," a teacher said.
The relief to CSSWA has given hope to teachers who are already burdened with academic work. "We realised that interim relief is only for the petitioners. So, we too have decided to move the court," another teacher added.
Stress and Uncertainty
Teachers told TOI that they have been under stress for the last two months after receiving Census duty letters. "We are running from pillar to post, asking why teachers from government and aided schools are not assigned Census duty first. Since school management did not support us, we had no option but to join the training workshops, which means that our name gets enrolled in their database. Once your name is registered, there is no wriggle room," said a teacher.
Association's Efforts
Deepali Dably, president of CSSWA, said, "Many teachers contacted our association and appealed for help. I followed the proper procedure by first meeting with local authorities and requesting them not to assign Census duty to CBSE school teachers, but it was refused. Later, we approached the court."
The interim relief has provided a temporary reprieve for CSSWA members, but many other teachers continue to face pressure from the NMC. They are now exploring legal options to protect themselves from being forced into Census duty, which they argue adds to their already heavy workload.
