Despite a September 18 directive issued by education secretary Sonali Giri to all deputy commissioners regarding the withdrawal of teachers from non-teaching and administrative assignments, an order from the sub-divisional magistrate (Ludhiana East) mentioning that the ration-card verification work assigned to teachers had been extended till September 30 caused confusion among educators on Friday.
The SDM’s order, which warned of disciplinary action against those who failed to comply, was withdrawn on Saturday after the intervention of the education secretary.
The September 18 directive issued by the education secretary called for the withdrawal of teachers from non-teaching and administrative assignments, including surveys, verification exercises and other miscellaneous duties.
The department had stated that such deployment of teachers outside schools affected classroom teaching, academic continuity and students’ learning. It had also directed that teachers should be assigned only duties permitted under law, including election-related work, the decennial census and disaster management. Non-teaching staff were to be utilised for other administrative assignments wherever possible.
However, the SDM (East) office issued a fresh directive stating that ration-card verification duties of school education department employees had been extended until September 30 to complete the pending work. The order instructed officials to ensure compliance and warned of disciplinary action against employees who failed to report for duty.
The order was subsequently withdrawn after the education secretary intervened. Giri said she had already spoken to the Ludhiana deputy commissioner and the order had been withdrawn. “I have already spoken to the Ludhiana DC and the order has been withdrawn,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}The order was subsequently withdrawn after the education secretary intervened. Giri said she had already spoken to the Ludhiana deputy commissioner and the order had been withdrawn. “I have already spoken to the Ludhiana DC and the order has been withdrawn,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Ration-card verification has sparked widespread condemnation among Ludhiana’s government school teachers, with 685 assigned to scrutinise new applications earlier this month. Already burdened with SIR and other government duties, teachers protested against the additional workload. The issue intensified after 314 teachers were reportedly served notices for missing a special training session organised for the verification exercise.
Deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain also confirmed the withdrawal, stating, “This was issued by the SDM inadvertently and stands withdrawn.”