In a significant order, Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to direct District Magistrates and District Basic Education officers of different districts to ensure that teachers shall not be assigned work in teeth of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
Three primary school teachers had filed a petition before the High Court. They submitted that authorities of the State or Parishad are appointing them as booth level officers. Various other works were also being assigned to them which are not required to be performed by a teacher.
The single-judge bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary noted that the authorities requiring the petitioners to perform work contrary to section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, is not liable to be sustained. The court also referred to Rule 21(3) of the Rules of 2011.
Section 27 of the Act of 2009 prohibits the deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes.
“For the purpose of maintaining the pupil-teacher ratio, no teacher posted in a school shall be made to serve in any other school or office or deployed for any non-educational purpose, other than the decennial population census, disaster relief duties or duties relating to elections to the local authority or the State Legislatures or Parliament,” reads Rule 21(3) of the Rules of 2011.
“The authorities concerned shall issue necessary instructions to the concerned District Magistrates and District Basic Education Officer of different districts to the effect that provisions contained under section 27 of the Act of 2009 shall be scrupulously complied with, and the Assistant Teachers shall not be assigned work in teeth of the provisions,” the court issued the directions to Uttar Pradesh government.
As per Uttar Pradesh Primary Teachers’ Association, over 1,621 teachers lost their lives from Covid-19 during the 2021 Panchayat polls in the State. The UPTA had sent the complete list of deceased to CM Yogi Adityanath seeking financial assistance of Rs 1 crore and jobs to their dependents.
However, Primary Education Minister Satish Chandra Dwivedi dismissed the figure and claimed that only three government teachers had succumbed to Covid-19.
