Secretary Education directs DCs Not to Deploy Teachers for Non-Teaching Duties
Babushahi Network
Chandigarh, September 24, 2026: Secretary Education has directed all Deputy Commissioners in the state to ensure that teachers and lecturers of the School Education Department are not deployed for non-teaching or administrative duties, except for assignments specifically permitted under law.
In a memo dated September 18, 2026, Secretary the Department of School Education said teachers were being requisitioned at the district and sub-divisional levels for various administrative and other non-teaching duties, in some cases for unnecessarily long periods. The department said such deployments were seriously affecting classroom teaching, academic continuity and students’ learning outcomes.
The department noted that a large number of teachers had already been deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and had discharged substantial responsibilities in the exercise. As the ongoing SIR is scheduled to conclude on September 30, 2026, the department said continued deployment of teachers beyond the requirement of the exercise should be curtailed so that they can resume their primary academic responsibilities in schools.
Department reiterated that, under Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and relevant judicial directions, teachers should not be deployed for non-educational purposes except for election-related duties, decennial census and disaster management. It also said that, as far as possible, election-related duties should be assigned outside teaching hours or on non-teaching days.
The memo directed that teachers may be deployed only for election-related, census or disaster-management duties. Even for these permissible assignments, district administrations have been asked to keep deployment to the bare minimum and, wherever operationally possible, assign duties outside school hours or on non-teaching days. Suitable non-teaching personnel should be utilised first.
The Deputy Commissioners have also been asked to issue clear instructions to district and sub-divisional authorities that teachers should not be requisitioned for surveys, verification exercises or miscellaneous duties unless these fall within the permissible categories.
The department further directed that any exceptional requirement involving deployment of teaching staff outside these categories must not be acted upon without prior approval of the School Education Department. The directions are to be strictly complied with.
It is worth mentioning here that such orders were issued repeatedly from time to time but it will be worth noting whether these will be implemented this time or not ?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SrfdyZrEHUL0khCwUaILc44Gq0NdyaUw/view?usp=sharing