Leave us out of caste census, urge teachers in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Primary teachers of the state have urged the state government not to engage them in the caste census scheduled to begin from May 1.
In violation of the Right to Education Act, thousands of government school teachers have been told to undertake the two-month-long caste based census as enumerators.
The Primary School Teachers Association has written to the commissioner of State Commission of Backward Classes and the school and mass education secretary expressing their unwillingness to take part in the exercise.
“It has been clearly mentioned that in rural areas anganwadi workers, and in urban areas anganwadi workers, tax collectors and officers will be engaged as enumerators. It has also been decided that in rural areas ICDS supervisors, marketing inspector, extension officers and social security officers will be engaged as supervisors in the caste census. Then why did the government ask the teachers to join the census as enumerators, which is in violation of the Right to Education Act? asked Brahmanada Moharana, president of the Primary School Teachers’ Association.