HimVani
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Principals and Headmasters Association has asked the Election Commission to make use of the services of minimum number of teachers during the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha election in the state. In a memorandum handed over to State Election Commissioner Manisha Nanda, the association’s vice-president Jeevan Sharma said teachers from schools having winter vacations should not be deployed on election duty as these schools will be having exams in December.
He also said that in the future non-teaching employees of the government should also be utilised for election duty. The memorandum further stated that as a priority, teachers from schools having less number of students should be deployed on election duty. The letter stated that one of the reasons behind the student turnout in government schools decreasing is that teachers are increasingly being used for non-teaching jobs.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071017/himplus…
CITIZEN FIRST
In the name of Constitutional duty
Election duty of government servants, targeting teachers, is back once again. Not liked by the teachers, manipulations will soon start to escape from it. This makes the people at the civil magistrate office more privileged, to oblige the known and show the power to others.
The seniority-based protocol is thrown into the dustbin and many juniors in the administration dictate the worst affected community. A long queue for receiving and submitting different packets of election material at various places brings out the mismanagement. After the completion of election duty, queuing for relieving orders from the SDM clerk is a humiliating experience.
There are no arrangements for stay in the field and they are left at the mercy of people. In some areas, people on duty who belong to lower castes, have to face socio-psychological problems too.
I have gone through such experiences several times. Helpless people are terrorised in the name of Constitutional duty. These issues need to be addressed properly by the state election commission to avoid any negative impact on the motivation level of people performing this sensitive duty.
Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Shimla
dear Mr Sharma,
Can you elaborate more on your experiences so sthat we may take up the issue further.
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