Teachers out on vacation are ordered to show up for election duty and do voter registration for their own constituency election
Prashant Redij, Principals' Association
Their summer vacations had only just begun, and now teachers from government schools have been asked to report for election duty. Ironically, the teachers have been summoned to conduct voter registrations for none other than the teachers' constituency election, scheduled for June 25. What has irked them is the fact that they been tasked with voter registration in an election where they are the voters.
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Worse yet, the registration process ends on June 15. Schools are expected to reopen around this time as well, leaving them with no vacation time at all. School principals were shocked when they received notices from the government asking them to make teachers available immediately for election duty.
The notices even questioned how the principals sanctioned holidays to the teachers. With many teachers already out on vacation, it has proved difficult for principals to contact them. On the other hand, if they fail to turn up, action can be taken against them.
'Completely unexpected'
"This is bizarre. How can they come up with a sudden schedule like this for the teachers' constituency election. If it had to be held during the summer vacation, it could have been planned better. If orders were issued in advance, we could have made required arrangements," said Prashant Redij, spokesperson for Maharashtra School Principals' Association. He continued, "Teachers are out now on their vacation. How does the government expect us to reach out to them, asking them to report for voter registration work?"
Shankar Pawar, president of the Mumbai Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals' Association, said, "The government has started threatening principals of action if teachers are not made available. This is completely unexpected. The election commission should have given adequate notice to us. Moreover, we do not understand the point of calling teachers to create their own voters' list." Repeated attempts to contact the Maharashtra chief electoral officer Ashwini Kumar for comment went unanswered.
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