Teachers on poll duty sparks debate

SHOULD TEACHERS be put on election duty? A number of opposition MPS in the Rajya Sabha on Friday argued for exempting teachers from election duties, while Minister of State for Law and Justice P P Choudhary tied himself in knots by asserting that, in his opinion, not just teachers but students also should be enrolled for election work.

Rajya Sabha saw an extensive discussion on the issue, thanks to a private member's Bill brought by DMK member Tiruchi Siva seeking a constitutional amendment to ensure exemption for teachers.

Siva's contention — that enrolment of teachers for election duty was disrupting academic schedules — received wide support. He pointed to the already stressed teaching environment, claiming that government figures showed that more than 9 lakh teaching posts at various levels were vacant in the country. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien wanted to check with the government whether these numbers were accurate. Not finding any minister from the MHRD, he asked junior Foreign Minister M J Akbar to convey the dismay of the House to the government.

“Students are suffering because of lack of teachers and teaching hours... Then they are given all sorts of non-academic tasks including election duties," Siva said. He argued that the government could enrol volunteers for election duty or summon retired teachers.

Viplove Thakur and Anand Bhaskar of the Congress, La Ganesan of the BJP, and some others supported the suggestion. But AIADMK members A Navaneethakrishnan and Vijila Sathyananth argued against it, saying the disruption was for a short period.

Minister Choudhary argued that election duty must not be seen as "wastage of time" but considered part of the education process. It should be considered "national service" as mentioned in Article 51 A of the Constitution, he said. "Learning about democracy is part of a student's education .... Not just teachers, students should also be encouraged to participate in elections," he said.

His senior, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, intervened. He said the government appreciated the concern of the members that teachers should devote all their time to academic activities. He said he would convey the sentiments to the Election Commission.