Chandigarh: Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains has written to the Chief Secretary, urging strict directions to departments to permanently exempt teachers from non-teaching assignments under Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act.
The provision bars the deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes, permitting only essential duties such as decennial population census, disaster relief or election work. The move is aimed at ensuring that teachers dedicate maximum time to classroom teaching and improving learning outcomes.
The directive comes after some Deputy Commissioners recently instructed teachers to patrol agricultural fields to check stubble burning, sparking protests from the teaching fraternity. Teachers argued that such orders directly contradicted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s earlier assurance that they would not be engaged in non-teaching tasks.
Following widespread opposition, the controversial orders were rolled back. Teachers had warned that being pressed into such duties would severely impact syllabus completion and classroom learning.
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