Gurgaon: The Haryana elementary education department has ordered a review of teacher strength across govt schools and directed district authorities to undertake internal adjustments or deputations of teachers wherever shortages have emerged due to their deployment on SIR duty, raising fresh concerns about the impact of non-teaching assignments on classroom learning.In an order dated Aug 30, director elementary education Manita Malik directed all district elementary education officers (DEEOs) to review the staff position of every school and issue orders wherever required, with a clear instruction to ensure that each school has at least the minimum required number of teachers.The department has specifically clarified that DEEOs can depute teachers to schools facing shortages in view of administrative exigencies arising from the deployment of teachers for SIR-related work. The officers have also been asked to submit a report on the action taken by the evening. The directive comes against the backdrop of persistent staff shortages in the city’s govt schools following the deployment of teachers for election-related duties. A recent report had highlighted that nearly 90% of govt schools in the district were facing shortages at some level, with teachers assigned as booth level officers (BLOs) or BLO assistants.At Govt Senior Secondary School, Fazilpur Jharsa, 15 teachers were assigned BLO duties and four more as BLO assistants, leaving the school with around 780 students and its head struggling to manage teaching, supervision and administrative responsibilities.Similar shortages were reported from schools in Bhondsi, with teachers stretched across multiple classes and duties. School heads had also raised concerns about arranging invigilators, distributing question papers, maintaining attendance, supervising students, collecting answer sheets and completing evaluation work with limited staff ahead of examinations. Teachers had said the prolonged BLO assignments were disrupting classroom teaching and had sought either the return of teachers to schools or alternative staffing arrangements.The latest SIR-related directive indicates that the problem of teachers being pulled away from classrooms for administrative duties has now necessitated formal staff redistribution by the education department. “When teachers are moved out for administrative duties, the immediate challenge is to ensure that children do not lose regular teaching hours. Internal adjustment may provide a temporary solution, but schools need adequate teachers throughout the academic session,” said a govt school teacher, requesting anonymity.Another teacher said the shortage becomes particularly difficult in schools where the existing staff is already managing multiple classes and responsibilities. “A teacher deputed for SIR work is not available in the classroom, and the remaining teachers have to manage additional students or classes. This affects lesson planning, individual attention and completion of the syllabus,” the teacher said.Parents and students have also expressed concern over the disruption of regular classes. “We come to school expecting our teachers to teach us according to the timetable. If teachers are sent for other duties, sometimes one teacher has to handle more students, and it becomes difficult to understand everything properly,” said Class 9 student Aarav. With teachers increasingly being assigned election and administrative responsibilities, the latest order puts the onus on district authorities to ensure that such deployments do not translate into classrooms being left without adequate teaching staff.
