Editor,
In continuation of the letter to the Readers’ Forum published in your esteemed daily under the heading “Exempt teachers from election duties” dated 6/10/2025, I would like to further highlight a few important points.
It has been rightly stated by one of our teacher friends that teachers should not be assigned duties during the upcoming Panchayat elections.
In this regard, I would like to shed light on a few facts. The Panchayat elections are scheduled for December this year. However, half-yearly examinations in schools begin in November. Following that, the CBSE pre-board exams commence in January, and the CBSE annual board examinations begin in February.
People must understand that if teachers are engaged in non-teaching duties, it becomes extremely difficult to complete the syllabus on time. Throughout the academic year, regular classes are already affected by co-curricular activities, various school programmes, and unavoidable teacher absences due to health or personal reasons.
Everyone – be it student unions, politicians, or the general public – often voices that teachers should not be burdened with non-teaching assignments. On one hand, society expects teachers to deliver good academic results; on the other hand, it also wants us to take up additional responsibilities outside the classroom. These two contradictory expectations cannot go hand in hand.
There are enough government employees in every district who can be assigned election duties. Yet, teachers are almost always deployed in the highest numbers. It is worth recalling that the state government has already assured that teachers will not be given election duties during academic sessions. Only during vacation periods may teachers be considered for such assignments. We sincerely hope the state government will uphold this commitment in the best interest of the student community.
If exempting all teachers is not feasible, at the very least, those teaching Classes X and XII (CBSE) should be exempted from election duties during the upcoming Panchayat elections.
Through this esteemed daily, I appeal to the state government and the State Election Commission to kindly consider our request in the interest of the education sector and our students.
I also appeal to the Arunachal Teachers’ Association and student unions to submit representations to the concerned authorities in this regard.
Rakesh Meli,
TGT,
Roing market