Karnataka school education minister Madhu Bangarappa has warned that the deployment of government and aided-school teachers for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) election duties is disrupting classroom teaching and could adversely affect students’ examination results. He said the state government had repeatedly asked the Election Commission to exempt teachers but had not received a response.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Friday, Bangarappa said teachers’ absence from schools was affecting academic activities as the election-related exercise continued. He said complaints had been received from schoolchildren and parents about the difficulties caused by the deployment.
“There have been reports of schools being left without teachers and children being sent home after the midday meal,” the minister said, adding that such a situation could not be allowed to continue. He said prolonged teacher deployment was affecting the functioning of schools and leaving teachers exhausted.
The disruption comes as mid-term examinations are under way in Karnataka, with preparatory examinations scheduled in the near future. Bangarappa said the absence of teachers had raised concerns about how students would prepare for and face the examinations effectively. He also warned that continued disruption to classroom teaching could affect results in the future.
The minister said the state government had informed the Election Commission that children’s education was being severely affected. According to him, the government’s requests for exemption had not received a response. He criticised the Commission’s decision to continue using teachers for SIR work, saying the deployment had been undertaken without sufficient consideration of its effect on students.
The issue has also prompted the state government to prepare legislation aimed at restricting the non-educational deployment of teachers. The proposed Karnataka Protection of Teachers from Non-Educational Deployment Bill would require the government to create a district-wise public duty roll before teachers could be considered for such assignments.
Under the proposed system, the government would maintain lists of non-teaching personnel from departments, statutory boards, corporations and public sector undertakings. The rolls would also include retired public servants and trained volunteers. These personnel would have to be fully utilised before teachers could be deployed for non-educational duties, according to the minister.
Bangarappa said the government intended to place the proposal before the cabinet and introduce the bill during a future session of the Karnataka legislature. Until then, the immediate dispute remains centred on whether teachers currently engaged in SIR duties can be released in time to restore regular classroom teaching and support students through the ongoing examination schedule.
