Kolkata, Sep 9 (IANS) Teachers and non-teaching staff of state-run schools in West Bengal assigned census duties will not be transferred from their current posts before September 30, according to a notification issued by the state School Education Department.
Further, no release orders will be issued to teachers and non-teaching staff till that date, including for those whose transfer process has already been completed, as per the notification.
The notification, however, has triggered concerns among teachers’ organisations. They have questioned the rationale behind fixing September 30 as the deadline when the first phase of the census exercise in the state is scheduled to conclude on September 15.
They have also sought clarity on whether the restriction would apply to transfers ordered by courts.
According to teachers’ association leaders, court-directed and mutual transfers are generally processed through the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education following recommendations from the School Service Commission, after which the concerned schools issue release orders.
The new directive, they argue, could delay such transfers even if the formal approval process has been completed.
Swapan Mondal, general secretary of a teachers’ association, said the order could create uncertainty for teachers engaged in census work, some of whom fear that their transfers may remain stalled until the census exercise is fully completed, potentially extending into February next year.
The deployment of school teachers for census work has been contentious since the exercise began. Last month, the Calcutta High Court, through Justice Krishna Rao, observed that teachers could not be expected to simultaneously perform census duties and their regular academic responsibilities. The court directed authorities to inform teachers in advance about census assignments and ensure alternative arrangements so that classroom teaching is not disrupted.
Justice Rao also ruled that teachers engaged in census-related work must be treated as being on official duty throughout the period of their assignment.
–IANS
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