Assam: Teachers’ forum condemns deployment of teachers for PMAY-G survey

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Sadou Asom Sammilit Sikshak Mancha (SASSM) has strongly condemned the repeated deployment of school teachers in non-academic government duties, particularly in survey and data entry works under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G).

In a statement, SASSM president Ranjit Barthakur expressed serious concern over what it called a "blatant violation" of Section 27 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which prohibits engaging teachers in non-educational assignments except for census, disaster relief, and election duties.

Barthakur stated that despite repeated protests by teacher associations, district administrations have continued assigning teachers to various non-teaching tasks, thereby disrupting classroom activities and adversely affecting students' learning outcomes.

Barthakur further stated that teachers across Assam have been engaged in activities not related to education - such as Amrit Brikshya Andolan (tree plantation), the Jaldhoot programme (T-shirt distribution), the Swachhata Abhiyan, the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, Kala Utsav, and Rani Lakshmibai self-defence training. Teachers are also made responsible for data entry, photo uploads, and report preparation for these programmes.

Barthakur alleged that the situation has become more serious with the large-scale deployment of teachers for the PMAY-G survey and implementation works. In the Sonitpur district alone, 695 teachers have been directed to carry out duties such as beneficiary listing, survey, geo-tagging, and document uploads (including photographs, land papers, and income certificates) through the Awaas+ 2024 app.

Similar reports have surfaced from almost all of Assam's 35 districts, including Kamrup, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, and Jorhat, where district administrations have reportedly engaged large numbers of teachers for similar work.  He claimed that such instructions are often issued unofficially through local District Mission Management Units (DMMUs) or Block Development Offices (BDOs) and distributed via WhatsApp rather than through public notifications.

"This is a clear violation of the RTE Act and has caused severe disruption to the teaching-learning process, and teachers are being detached from their primary responsibility of imparting education, harming both students' learning rights and teachers' professional morale," he said.  SASSM recalled that since 2019, it has been protesting against such practices and that many teachers had even exited official WhatsApp groups to avoid receiving such non-academic directives.

Expressing deep concern over the growing trend of assigning teachers to administrative work, the SASSM urged the Assam Government and the Panchayat & Rural Development Department to immediately withdraw all orders deploying teachers for PMAY and similar non-academic duties. Failing this, the SASSM warned of intensifying its protest into a statewide public movement. The forum also appealed to parents, civil society, and all organizations concerned to support this cause in the interest of students' education.  

 Also Read: "Centre Sanctions 36.72 Lakh PMAY-G Houses for Northeast "