Gurgaon ropes in private school teachers for count

If your children happen to study in one of the prominent private schools in Gurgaon, chances are they may not be having many classes this entire week -- thanks to a desperate measure by the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.

Teachers from at least 28 private schools have been roped in for census duty by the administration after a large number of government employees produced medical certificates to exempt themselves from the work. The Haryana state-level census programme was launched from Gurgaon on Sunday by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The district was to have 2,048 government employees as enumerators apart from 223 supervisors. However, as many as 1,800 employees never turned up for training in spite of repeated notices. Most of them came up with frivolous excuses in order to excuse themselves for not doing the census duty, with a majority submitting medical certificates citing illness. The desperate authorities then decided to rope in teachers of 52 private schools in Gurgaon, including reputed ones like Shri Ram and Amity, to fill in the numbers. Officially though, the administration said only 28 private schools were sounded out for the work. "We were running short of manpower to conduct the census survey till Monday but we have asked the private schools in Gurgaon to cooperate and send their teachers to carry out the task. We hope this will not impact teaching in schools as most of these institutions have closed for summer vacations," said Rajesh Khullar, commissioner, MCG. That, however, isn't true since many schools are open at least till the rest of this week.

The teachers said they were being arm-twisted into doing government's work. "This request came as an unpleasant surprise for us. About a fortnight ago, I received a letter from the commissioner asking me to send all my teachers for census duty. It also states that those who refuse will be imprisoned for three years. Our school closes for summer vacation on May 10. I fail to understand why are they doing this to us. In private schools like ours, parents pay through their nose so that their children get good education. I have sent most of my teachers for this survey but the syllabus is getting effected," said a principal of a private school, requesting anonymity. The problem does not end just there. The teachers, most of whom are women, have been assigned to far-flung areas. "Some of my woman teachers have been sent to villages like Kanhai, which has a high crime rate. I am being forced to send a few class four employees to accompany them for safety. Most of the teachers reside in Delhi and are finding it hard to reach these areas. Moreover, their vacation travel plans with their families have gone haywire," she added. Others, too, felt they were trapped. "Even though we understand the need for us to do this survey, the clause which says that we can be imprisoned for three years if we refuse to do so is what is bothering us. Of course, we don't want to be on the wrong side of law. The security for woman teachers will be an issue and I hope the authorities look into this matter," said Manju Bharat Ram, chairperson, Shri Ram schools. Under section 6 of the Indian Census Act, 1948, any person in charge of a lunatic asylum, hospital, workhouse, prison, reformatory or lock-up or of any public, charitable or educational institution can be asked to perform the duties of the census officer. A person who refuses to perform these duties shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 187 of the Indian Penal Code.

The municipal commissioner, however, insisted that according to the law anybody meeting certain qualifications can be asked to do the duty. "According to the Indian Census Act anybody fulfilling certain qualifications can be asked to do the census survey and if they refuse to do so they can be imprisoned for up to three years. It is a cognizable offence. I will be taking action against those government employees who have not turned up for duty," he said.