Karnataka teachers welcome proposed law to restrict teachers from non-academic activities

According to the bill, the government must maintain district lists of non-teaching staff from all ministries, corporations, PSUs and retired civil servants and must use these people on priority for non-academic activities like SIR, census etc. | Photo credit: File photo

Teachers across Karnataka have welcomed the proposed legislation to regulate the deployment of teachers for non-academic activities such as electoral roll revision, census duty, socio-educational surveys and election work. They urged the government to pass the legislation as soon as possible so that academic activities can be completed on time.

Chandrashekar Nuggali, general secretary of the Karnataka State Primary Teachers Association (KPSTA), said, “The association met officials from the Education Department and School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa to discuss several issues, including the exemption of teachers from non-academic duties. They were deployed for the Karnataka Social and Educational Survey last year (they have been involved in the Intensive Revision since June this year). 2026. Further there will be a census across the country and we don’t want teachers to be deployed in the census.” This, he said, has seriously affected academics.

Mr. Nuggali said officials assured the association that the legislation would be passed during the winter session in December.

Devaraje Gowda, a teacher at Karnataka Public School (KPS) in Channarayapatna, welcomed the state government’s move. “Teachers in our school and other government schools start their day as early as 6am because of SIR. They come to school around 9am to teach students. Some teachers do SIR work during lunch breaks and after school. They struggle to complete the syllabus even when exams are coming up,” he said.

He added that teachers hardly have time to improve their skills or learn something new to implement in the classrooms.

According to the proposed legislation, the government must maintain district lists of non-teaching staff from all ministries, corporations, PSUs and retired government employees and must use these people on priority for non-academic activities like SIR, census etc. No government school teacher can be deployed on non-teaching work unless the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner issues a letter that no staff is available for non-teaching staff

Published – 24 Sep 2026 22:45 IST