Imposition of a wide range of non-teaching duties undermines the professional status of teachers said Tharoor

Updated on: Monday, August 12, 2013

Union minister of state for human resource development Shashi Tharoor has said that no teacher shall be deployed for non-educational purposes other than population census, disaster relief duties or work related to elections.

"...no teacher shall be deployed for non-educational purposes other than the population census, disaster relief duties or duties relating to elections to the local authority or the state legislatures or Parliament, as per the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009," an official release said on Sunday quoting Tharoor.

The minister also said the National Knowledge Commission has noted that the imposition of a wide range of non-teaching duties, such as that of manning poll booths and collecting data for surveys, cuts into the available teaching time and also undermines the professional status of teachers.

He said these activities should be shared among a wider range of public employees or even those hired specifically for the purpose, and the burden of such work on teachers must be reduced, the release said.

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