Delhi teacher suspended without cause, says order came after post against stray dog directive

The suspended teacher, Sant Ram, said he posted a video in a WhatsApp group over apprehensions of having to undertake tasks, such as counting dogs

New Delhi

Directives over the stray dog menace have caused multiple differences among different stakeholders. (Archive/AP)

The Delhi government’s directorate of education (DoE) suspended a Hindi teacher posted at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya (SBV), Subhash Nagar, according to an order released on December 31, 2025. While the order did not specify a reason for the suspension, the teacher alleged that action was taken for refusing to serve as the school’s nodal officer to tackle the stray dog issue.

The suspended teacher, Sant Ram, said he posted a video on social media on December 29—after a list of 118 North West district teachers appointed as nodal officers was circulated— over apprehensions of having to undertake tasks, such as counting dogs.

Speaking to HT, Ram said, “The suspension order probably came in the backdrop of my statement but no proper explanation was given to me.”

Delhi education minister Ashish Sood told HT, “Teachers are welcome to protest for their rights and take a stand for important issues. However, politically motivated misinformation campaigns will naturally call for disciplinary action. The concerned teacher should have gone through the order properly and checked what it actually said before making a misinformed statement.”

In the video, Ram had said, “Exams are going on and this is not teaching-related work... As a teacher, it is worth thinking why teachers are kept at the forefront and we serve whenever the government has called. But we had not anticipated that teachers would now be deployed to count and record the number of stray dogs.”

Ram is the secretary of the West A District of Delhi School Teachers Association.

The order, a copy of which was accessed by HT, read, “Whereas, a disciplinary proceeding against Sh. Sant Ram, TGT (Hindi).... is contemplated..... Now, therefore, the undersigned, in exercise of powers conferred under sub-rule (1) of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, hereby places said Sh. Sant Ram, TGT (Hindi) under suspension with immediate effect.”

Posting a copy of the order on X, Aam Aadmi Party’s Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote, “The BJP government has not yet withdrawn the ‘stray dogs’ order, but has suspended the teacher. This teacher had condemned the government’s directive... This government is anti-education, they insult teachers.”

Bharadwaj also referred to an incident at the Delhi University, wherein a student union leader affiliated to ABVP reportedly slapped a professor. “A few days ago, a student leader from their own ABVP slapped a professor, further insulting him by making the video viral. But the government did not suspend the student leader, nor did the BJP take any action,” he posted.