Haryana teachers directed to assist priests

Even as poor results continue to mar performance of government schools in the state, Haryana government is more keen on training its teachers to assist priests for an ongoing five-day religious fair and distribute prasad rather than be in classrooms.

In a recent directive, a copy of which is with DNA, the district administration sought clarification from the education department on why teachers had not reported for training ahead of Kapal Mochan Fair 2017 in Yamunanagar, stating that it any lapse would invite disciplinary action.

As many as 90 teachers from various government schools were directed to attend the day-long training for priests. During the fair, the teachers will be required to distribute prasad and assist priests in pooja. "Disciplinary action is part of the norm, if officials do not report for duty assigned to them," said DC Yamunanagar Rohtash Singh Kharb.

The orders invited sharp criticism from teachers who condemned the move. "Ya to hum school mein padhaein, ya puja-path karein. It has become a norm to deploy teachers on all kinds of non-teaching duties. When we did not attend the training, we were threatened with disciplinary action. If teachers remain absent from classrooms, how are we supposed to improve the results?" said Jagdeep Singh, a member of the teachers' union.

The bizarre diktat has left the Haryana government shamefaced, which seemed to distance itself from the diktat, leaving the ball in the district administration's court. "It could be the district administration's order," said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

BJP Spokesperson Jawahar Yadav defended the move saying, "It is just about distributing prasad to devotees during the fair. The teachers are not being trained to become full-fledged priests."

However, it is not the first time that teachers have been roped in to perform duties during the religious fair, as over 100 teachers are deployed in the religious fair since 2014, when 110 were on duty inside the temple, 110 in 2015 and 105 teachers were roped in last year.

When questioned, Deputy Commissioner, Yamunanagar, Rohtash Singh Kharb said the order was taken due to administrative constraints. "It is a huge event and we need manpower. Out of 2,000 officials employed, 90 of them are teachers. It is a religious fair and teachers are required to assist the pujaris, including giving prasad, handling the donations for eight hours every day. The schools can manage by substituting teachers."

The five day religious far, Kapalmochan-2017 which began on October 31 is organized every year in Yamunanagar and witnesses a footfall of over 5 lakh devotees from across Punjab and Haryana. As many as 2,000 district-level officials are deputed on several duties for the fair, which includes at least 100 teachers every year.