Despite government claims to elevate the standard of education, the situation in Amritsar district appears to be quite the opposite. The academic functioning of schools has been severely disrupted due to the deployment of over 2,500 elementary and secondary school teachers for various government survey duties. The situation has become so critical that several schools are on the verge of closure due to a severe shortage of teachers. According to reports, teachers from numerous schools—including GHS Diyal Bharang, GHS Mohan Bhandarian, GMS Diyalpura, GMS Harar Kalan, GSSS Sudhar, and GHS Chak Sikandar—have been assigned to various survey tasks. Consequently, classrooms are lying empty, and the risk of a serious adverse impact on students’ education has escalated.
**500 Teachers on Voter Revision (BLO) Duty**
Approximately 900 teachers are engaged in drug and socio-economic surveys, while around 600 teachers have been deployed for census operations. Furthermore, hundreds of teachers from the secondary education wing are also occupied with various non-academic duties. These circumstances clearly demonstrate that a significant portion of the Education Department’s workforce has been diverted away from academic responsibilities to engage in other tasks.
**Direct Impact on Studies; Parents Express Concern**
Basic education is paramount for children in primary and middle schools; however, this crucial process is being compromised due to the absence of teachers. Expressing their deep concern, parents have questioned how their children’s future can remain secure if there are no teachers present in the schools. They have demanded that staff for survey-related duties be drawn from other government departments instead.
**Non-Academic Duties Undermine the Education System**
Ashwani Awasthi, President of the Democratic Teachers Front, has alleged that the government is weakening the entire education system by diverting teachers’ time and energy into non-academic assignments. He warned that if the assigned duties were not immediately withdrawn, an intense agitation would be launched. He pointed out that, in several instances, both the husband and wife within the same family—both being teachers—have been assigned these duties.
**Schools in Ajnala Likely to Remain Closed**
Gurdeep Singh Bajwa, a leader of the Government Teachers Union, stated that the primary duty of teachers is to teach; however, assigning them tasks related to BLO (Booth Level Officer) duties, census operations, and other survey work is inappropriate. According to him, several schools in the Ajnala Tehsil are likely to remain closed due to a scheduled meeting, as the entire staff is fully occupied with these assigned duties.
**Schools Already Grappling with Staff Shortages**
Rakesh Kumar, a leader of the Government School Teachers Union, noted that schools are already struggling with a shortage of teachers. The situation has now worsened further due to the deployment of a large number of teachers for survey-related tasks. In many schools, only one or two teachers remain on duty. He demanded that separate staff be recruited specifically for carrying out these survey operations.
