With many government school teachers drafted for upcoming Census duties, serious concerns have emerged regarding how educational institutions will manage classes and maintain regular teaching schedules during the absence of staff, particularly in already understaffed schools.
According to an official letter issued on October 1 by the office of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Ludhiana East, training for Census 2027 (Phase 2) is scheduled to commence on Monday.
Trainees were instructed to report on Saturday solely to mark their attendance. Because schools remained open on Saturday, the directive created immediate administrative hurdles for educators struggling to balance mandatory government duties with classroom responsibilities.
Sukhdhir Singh Sekhon, head teacher at Government Primary School, Moti Nagar, highlighted the severe crunch faced by institutions. He noted that out of eight teachers posted at his school, three were already deployed on booth-level officer (BLO) duties, while the remaining staff members have now been assigned census responsibilities.
The three-day training programme has been split into two batches. The first batch will undergo training from October 5 to 7, followed by the second batch from October 8 to 10.
Teacher unions have raised concerns over the need for teachers to report merely to record attendance ahead of the training sessions, arguing that such protocols inflict avoidable disruption on academic routines.
{{/usCountry}}Teacher unions have raised concerns over the need for teachers to report merely to record attendance ahead of the training sessions, arguing that such protocols inflict avoidable disruption on academic routines.
{{/usCountry}}Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon, district president of the Lecturer Cadre Union, said educators were fully cooperative regarding national census responsibilities but questioned the logic of a separate attendance drill on a working day.
“We are not against census duties, but being asked to report just to mark attendance on Saturday is completely unnecessary and disrupts school functioning. Training for Phase 1 has already been provided, and digital training could be considered so that schools can continue functioning alongside these duties,” Dhillon said.
When approached regarding the crisis, deputy district education officer (elementary) Manoj Kumar said, “Let’s see how the schools will be managed.”