It has become a common procedure for teachers from schools and educational institutions to be called for poll duty at the time of the state assembly elections.
As of now it is understood that the government has decided to send the teaching staff for poll duty training. It must be said that times are different.
After a gap of more than one-and-a-half years of closure of schools due to the pandemic, the government had recently decided to reopen schools for classes VIII to XII.
Teachers were not idle during the school closure and had to conduct online classes and tests. Now with the schools reopening they are facing an extra burden to complete the portion and conduct various tests.
The students have to get used to attending classes after a very long gap and the teacher-student relationship has a vital role to play in this regard. Teachers could be over burdened with their normal duties and hence it would be in the fitness of things for the government to spare the teaching staff from poll duties in the ensuing assembly elections.
The government could think in lines of providing temporary work for the educated unemployed youth by engaging them in poll-related work.
A stipend could be paid to these youth for the period of the poll duty training and the actual work done during the polling dates as also on the day of counting. This will be a win-win situation for the teachers as also for the unemployed youth.
