The Sasaram Municipal Corporation in Bihar’s Rohtas district has directed school teachers to collect data on stray dogs, drawing criticism from the teaching community.
Teachers in the state are already
assigned non-academic duties such as census work, Booth Level Officer (BLO) responsibilities and caste surveys, often at the cost of classroom teaching. The latest directive adds another task to their workload.
The order requires all schools within the municipal limits to appoint a nodal officer, specifically a teacher, to collect and share information related to stray dogs.
As per the directive, the nominated teacher will be responsible for reporting the number of stray dogs in and around school premises, their condition and possible control measures. The civic body is reportedly planning to set up a dog pound as part of its efforts to manage the stray dog population.
The order has added to concerns among teachers, who say they are already burdened with several non-teaching responsibilities. They argue that repeated deployment for administrative tasks affects their primary role of teaching.
According to NDTV, Sasaram Municipal Commissioner Vikas Kumar said the directive was issued in accordance with government guidelines. He said educational institutions were asked to provide details of nodal officers to help authorities collect local-level data on stray dogs, which would be used for planning purposes.
However, teachers have expressed dissatisfaction with the move, stating that they are regularly assigned duties unrelated to education, including census work, BLO responsibilities and caste surveys, and are now being asked to take on yet another task outside their professional mandate.
