Why Centre not consulting state: Calcutta High Court on govt school teachers’ census duty
Times of India | 19 August 2026
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday questioned the lack of coordination between the Centre and the state on census duty for govt school teachers.
“Why is the Centre and state not consulting (with each other)? How will the state function?” said the HC, which wanted to know from the Bengal govt the reason behind the contradictory orders on when teachers should be in school and when they should perform their month-long census duties.
Hearing petitions for the census duty of teachers at govt schools, Justice Krishna Rao noted that while the census authority fixed 9 am to 4 pm for census work, the state said teachers would have to carry out the task after school hours and on weekends.
When the state’s counsel argued it had an obligation under the Right to Education Act and teachers could not forgo classes, a visibly annoyed Justice Rao said there was no cooperation between the Centre and the state.
Justice Rao said a balance needed to be achieved between teachers’ census work and school duties.
He said the state was yet to furnish the complete data of the exact number of teaching and non-teaching staff members assigned to census duties. Questioning the practicality of the arrangement, the judge pointed out that school hours were typically from 10 am to 4 pm, leaving teachers with virtually no time to perform census work without compromising on their health or primary educational duties.
“When will they teach in school, and when will they go home?” said Justice Rao, firmly adding teachers could not be burdened on their days off.
The HC suggested that instead of assigning teachers on a massive scale, the administration could adopt a balanced model—deploying a small fraction of staff from every school while leaving the majority to run classes uninterrupted—or adjust work schedules. Justice Rao further recommended engaging personnel from municipalities, panchayats and non-teaching staff members even from the state assembly to avoid disrupting academic activities.
Additional solicitor general Dhiraj Trivedi, representing the Census authority, told the court that it wanted state officials for a month for the census work and it did not matter whether they were from municipalities or schools. In case teachers were deployed, a particular plan had to be drafted as the work schedule clashed with school hours, which were usually from 10 am to 4 pm, Trivedi said.
To a query by the court, Trivedi said although the target was to complete the census work in a month, it could be extended, if required.
The court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday on a prayer by the state counsel, who said he needed to get instructions from the authorities.