Jaipur: Government school teachers in Rajasthan have flagged that their large-scale deployment for Census 2027 work, including during the self-enumeration phase, is draining classrooms of staff and threatening academic targets set for the new session.
Teachers said census operations were originally scheduled to begin on May 15, but educators appointed as enumerators have already been assigned door-to-door duties, including for self-enumeration, leaving schools severely understaffed.
According to teachers’ representatives, between 60% and 80% of teachers in some government schools have been assigned census duties, far above the education department’s directive that no more than 30% of teachers from any school should be deployed at a time.
The timing has intensified concerns. The academic session began on April 1 this year, with the department aiming to complete 20% of the syllabus before July so students can revise during summer vacation. The first round of tests is scheduled from May 13 to 15.
Vipin Prakash Sharma, state president of the Rajasthan Primary and Secondary Teachers’ Association, said, “The academic session started early this year so that 20% of the syllabus can be completed before July and students can revise the same during summer vacation. But if teachers are assigned duties, then how will we teach? Furthermore, what is the point of a ‘self-enumeration’ process if enumerators are ultimately conducting it?”
The education department had earlier issued clear instructions that census duties should not be assigned to more than 30% of teachers in any government school. In April, Education Minister Madan Dilawar had said teachers would be deployed in a way that allowed them to teach in the first half of the day and carry out census work in the second half, citing academic losses seen during the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
Teachers, however, alleged that these safeguards are not being enforced on the ground. Sharma said officials responsible for assigning duties, including deputy commissioners and tehsildars, were pressuring teachers to report for census work.
“Officials are assigning tasks to teachers and subsequently issuing notices threatening suspension or even an FIR over the phone, thereby coercing teachers into reporting for duty,” he said.
Mahendra Pandey, chief general secretary of the Rajasthan Primary and Secondary Teachers’ Association, has demanded that the director of the education department convene a meeting with all concerned officials to review census duty assignments and ensure the 30% deployment ceiling is strictly followed so that classroom teaching is not disrupted.
