Delhi govt says no teacher assigned for dog census duty

On Monday, the directorate of education (DoE) said it had only instructed the heads of all schools and all concerned local bodies to the measures they had taken in this regard.It had not, it clarified, assigned any specific duties to teachers.

The Delhi government on Monday dismissed “misinformation” that it had assigned teachers across the city certain tasks linked to stray dogs in line with a Supreme Court order after pushback from teachers’ associations saying that carrying out such non-academic duties would impact the academic session.

The apprehension surfaced among various teachers’ associations that they might be deployed for the task (Hindustan Times)

Last month, the top court had directed the appointment of nodal officers at sensitive public areas to manage stray dogs. On Monday, the directorate of education (DoE) said it had only instructed the heads of all schools and all concerned local bodies to the measures they had taken in this regard.It had not, it clarified, assigned any specific duties to teachers.

“As per the directions issued by the DoE on November 20th and 24th, and December 5th and 10th, responsibility has been assigned to the Heads of all offices, schools, and Stadia under the Directorate of Education, as well as to the concerned authorities/local bodies, to undertake the following measures, including submission of exhaustive list of all public and private educational institutions and sports complexes, strengthening of boundary walls, appointment of nodal officers and awareness programmes to prevent habitation of stray dogs,” said the DoE statement.

The apprehension surfaced among various teachers’ associations that they might be deployed for tasks such as the counting of stray dogs in schools and nearby areas on Monday after an official list 118 teachers of the North West District appointed as nodal teachers was circulated on WhatsApp. HT has seen the list. It did not mention what tasks the nodal officers would carry out.

Reacting to the development, education minister Ashish Sood said no directions had been issued to assign teachers to counting stray dogs. He further alleged these allegations are flamed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government which hasn’t been able to accept its defeat.

After the government’s clarification, president of the MCD teachers’ union, Shikshak Nyay Manch Nagar Nigam, Kuldeep Khatri in a statement said: “We demand that guards be appointed at the gates of all municipal schools to ensure the safety of both students and teachers.”

On November 7, terming the rise in dog-bite incidents a “matter of human safety concern”, the Supreme Court directed all states and Union territories to ensure the removal of stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus depots, and railway stations, holding that such dogs cannot be released back into the same premises after sterilisation. In that regard, it also said the management of these public places should assign a nodal officer to ensure the upkeep and cleanliness of the premises and that stray dogs don’t enter or inhabit the campus.

On Monday, the government said, following the order, two different meetings — on November 12 and 20 — were held to draw up a detailed plan for institution-wise implementation. Compliance directions were issued to the education department as well as civic agencies, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Development Authority, Sports Authority of India, and Delhi Cantonment board, among others. One order, issued on December 5, directed the designation of a “nodal officer for each institution on priority, prominent display of nodal officer details at the main entrance and sharing of such details with the respective jurisdictional local body”. These officers, it said, will carry out routine inspections within their premises and inform local authorities for remedial action in case stray dogs are found on the campus.

According to teachers, the issue emerged on Monday after a list of 118 teachers from the North West district being appointed as nodal officers was circulated on WhatsApp.

Asking why MCD staff can’t be tasked to keep dogs away, north-west district secretary of the Delhi School Teachers Association, Sant Ram said, “This isn’t teaching-related work and why are teachers kept at the forefront whether its elections or preparation SIR or managing booths. Pre-boards and exams are around the corner, we have to do revisions.”

Referring to the DoE order issued on December 5, the principal of Mangolpuri-based government school, on condition of anonymity, said “The orderis vague as to who and with what experience should be appointed as nodal officers,” adding that they had given the names of names of teachers and lab-support staff for it.