Private School Teachers Cannot Be Forced into Census Duty

Bombay HC Issues Interim Relief

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HT Correspondent 

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Mumbai:- In a major setback to both the Central and State governments, the Bombay High Court has issued an interim order restraining authorities from forcing teachers and non-teaching staff of private schools into census-related work.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Gautam Akhand and Justice Sandesh Patil passed the interim order on Friday (May 22). Delivering a stern reprimand to the administration, the High Court directed that no criminal or punitive action should be initiated against any teacher or staff member who fails to report for census duty. Furthermore, authorities have been barred from issuing any show-cause notices in this regard.

As the High Court is currently on summer vacation, a detailed final hearing was not possible. Recognizing the urgency of the matter, the bench granted immediate interim relief to the aggrieved staff and scheduled the next hearing before a regular bench on July 31.

The state government does not possess the legal authority to assign census duties to staff employed in private, unaided schools. Under the Census Act, such duties can only be assigned to officials and employees of 'local authorities'. The court emphasized that private, unaided, and minority schools do not fall under the definition of a 'local authority.'

Clarifying the provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the court noted that the primary objective of the law is to ensure quality education for students. If teachers are to be assigned non-educational tasks, specific and distinct rules must be formulated.

Since the state government has not framed any such rules for private schools, coercing their staff is fundamentally flawed. The bench noted that such duties disrupt daily school operations and hinder students' academic progress.

The matter reached the court through a petition filed by an association of private schools challenging the forced imposition of census duties on teachers. Around 500 private, unaided, and minority schools across Maharashtra are affiliated with this association.

 Diverting teachers to non-academic work directly impacts their daily teaching responsibilities, making it highly difficult to deliver quality education to students. The petitioners argued that these schools receive no financial aid or grants from the state government and operate entirely on student tuition fees. Therefore, forcing government duties upon their staff is unjust. The petition also cited a recent interim order by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, which had similarly directed that private school teachers should not be assigned census duties.

The petition highlighted that the state administration had deployed a massive number of private school teachers for census operations across various districts. 

The High Court's interim order has brought immense relief to private school managements, teachers, and staff members across the state.