Maharashtra: State teachers’ boycott hampers national literacy census efforts

Mahendra Ganpule, state spokesperson for the Maharashtra School Principals’ Association; (right) Mahesh Palkar, director of education (planning) and member secretary of SMLA

As the deadline for data submission looms, Maharashtra lags behind in the nationwide illiteracy census. The State Education Department has warned of potential actions against teachers who've boycotted work or caused delays under the MEPS regulations and other relevant rules.

Amidst the heavy workload of numerous non-academic responsibilities, such as Aadhaar registration, mid-day meal audits, and out-of-school student surveys, the illiteracy census under the ambitious ‘Navbharat Saksharta Abhiyan' (New India Literacy Programme - NILP) by the Central Government faces substantial resistance from 32 teachers' unions within the state.

Teachers argue that these non-academic tasks encroach upon their primary teaching duties. Nonetheless, the education department insists on their completion, citing a government mandate and a national duty that compels teachers to fulfil them.

The survey was to be conducted offline by teachers, concurrently with the out-of-school survey identifying children below 14 years of age living on the streets, and providing admission to government schools. Teachers were directed to complete this task during non-duty hours without compromising their regular academic work.

However, approximately 2.5 lakh teachers in Maharashtra decided to boycott the census data collection task, starting on September 5 as a form of protest. The survey, which began on August 17, was initially scheduled for completion by August 31, with the extended deadline for data submission set for October 28.

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The target for the state for the last and current fiscal years combined is to educate 12,40,000 individuals between the ages of 15 and 35. This constitutes around 8-10 per cent of the over 1,63,00,000 illiterate population in the state, as per data from the 2011 census. However, against this target, only 26,938 illiterate individuals had been registered as of October 21.

Mahendra Ganpule, the state spokesperson for the Maharashtra School Principals' Association, defended their position, saying, "First, they burden us with a myriad of non-academic responsibilities, and then they label these tasks as a national duty? What does this leave for teaching students? It seems that whenever there's a demand for a substantial number of educated individuals, teachers are called upon, be it for election duties or census activities. Despite the Right to Education (RTE) Act clearly stating that teachers should not be involved in non-academic duties, they are consistently laden with such obligations."

Sushil Shejule, coordinator of Marathi Shala Sansthachalak Sangh, said, "Considering that over 50% of teaching positions in state schools remain unfilled and there has been no teacher recruitment since 2012, educators are already grappling with the weight of their academic responsibilities. Now, burdening them with non-academic tasks further exacerbates the challenges arising from these vacancies. It is both illogical and counterproductive to assign primary teachers to this survey. The government must seriously reconsider this approach."

Shejule added, "The state government should appoint a private company or NGO for this kind of census work instead."

Mahesh Palkar, director of education (planning) and member secretary of Maharashtra State Literacy Mission Authority (SMLA), justified the government's stance. He said, "We only need to identify illiterate individuals above the age of 15, and collect their names, numbers, and addresses. We already have the count of illiterate individuals but lack their names, and the survey aims to provide us with this essential information. Teachers were conducting out-of-school surveys for children up to 14 years. Our request is solely for them to gather information about uneducated individuals aged 15 and above. We are not asking them to venture outside for the survey; all they need to do is record a name. The form comprises straightforward fields, such as gender, and cell phone number, or merely requires a tick mark."

Palkar hinted at stern action against those delaying the task, saying, "If there is delay, neglect, or malpractice at any stage of the task, we can invoke action as per the provisions of the MEPS act, Secondary School Code, etc. As far as we know, teachers have completed almost 80 to 90 per cent of the work, which they have not submitted under the pressure of their respective unions. We will initiate action against such teachers."

32
No. of teachers' union boycotting the govt. orders