E-Paper
Teachers get show-cause notice for skipping civic poll rehearsals
Sangrur additional deputy commissioner (ADC development) Sukhchain Singh Papra said that the notices were issued under the Punjab State Election Commission Act and that they have not received any instruction from the state election commission.
Show-cause notices have been issued to educators who skipped civic poll rehearsals, sparking statewide outrage among teachers regarding the continuous deployment of educational staff for non-teaching duties.
The notices, issued under the Punjab State Election Commission Act, warn teachers of strict legal action if they fail to explain their absence.
Sangrur additional deputy commissioner (ADC development) Sukhchain Singh Papra said that the notices were issued under the Punjab State Election Commission Act and that they have not received any instruction from the state election commission.
“Election duty lasts for three and a half days, during which time you cannot perform census duties,” he said, explaining that when assigned to elections, you cannot engage in any other work. He added, “If a show-cause notice is not issued, then no one will show up for election duty. Even FIRs are registered for such negligence.”
A senior official said that 46 show-cause notices have been issued in the district.
Barnala district education officer Suneetinder Singh said that while the teachers were served with notices initially, the matter was resolved as authorities listened to their problems.
However, teacher unions and educators said that these overlapping administrative duties are crippling the school system and hurting student learning.
Mohinder Kumar, a teacher at a government middle school in Abdul Khaliq village, Fazilka, and a union leader of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) said, “The school has a strength of 110 students and four teachers, including me. Among these, two are on Census duty and one is in an election rehearsal, due to which I am alone handling the students.”
Even teachers who are present in schools say they face overwhelming pressure. Jasdeep Singh, a Hindi teacher at a government girls’ senior secondary school in Sangrur, who is deployed as a booth level officer, said nearly 50% of his school’s 65-member staff has been deployed for various government schemes and election tasks. “Though some of these duties are supposed to happen after school hours, the constant pressure remains overwhelming,” Singh said.
Teachers’ unions confirmed that notices have been served to educators across multiple districts, including Sangrur, Pathankot, and Bathinda.
A show-cause notice from Bathinda additional deputy commissioner-cum additional district electoral officer addressed to Jonny Singla, a computer teacher from Government Senior Secondary School, Sekhu, said, “You were put on duty as PO for municipal corporation, council and nagar panchayat election -2026. The appointment order was duly served on you, but you failed to report for rehearsal on May 17. Failure to attend rehearsal or poll duty is punishable under section 120 of the Punjab State Election Commission Act, 1994. This notice is issued to you to give an explanation regarding absence from election duty.”
When asked about whether the instructions for show-cause notices were given by the state election commission, Bathinda ADC Kanchan said that the notices were issued by the respective districts.
A senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “We are under double pressure. On one hand, we face constant requests for exemptions of teachers by political or personal influences, on the other hand, we are strictly required to meet our administrative targets as being watched by the nodal officers of the government, prompting us to issue notices to teachers.”
