MoS Education cancels circular assigning extra duties to teachers at Ghela Somnath Temple event

Rajkot: Minister of State for Education, Prafulbhai Panseria, has ordered the immediate cancellation of the circular that was issued by the Jasdan Provincial Officer directing school principals and teachers to manage meals for dignitaries visiting the Ghela Somnath Temple in Rajkot.

Responding on the matter, the MoS for Education stated that it is completely inappropriate to burden teachers, who are responsible for shaping students’ futures, with the responsibility of managing meals at public events, in addition to their educational duties. Issuing such circulars compromises students’ education and should not be done, he emphasised.

According to the order, 48 primary school teachers from over 10 nearby schools had been assigned the responsibility of managing meals for VVIPs.

MoS further added that the state government will take necessary steps to ensure that, in the future, no responsibilities other than essential duties like election work—mandated at the highest level by the Government of India or the Government of Gujarat, are assigned to teachers. To prevent any disruption to students’ education, the Minister directed that any proposal to assign additional duties to teachers must first be coordinated with the Principal Secretary of the Education Department in Gandhinagar.

In connection with this incident, the Minister held a telephonic discussion with the Principal Secretary of the Education Department, Mukesh Kumar, instructing him to take immediate action and revoke the circular. He also asked the Principal Secretary to ensure that no such ad hoc circulars are issued in the future that assign unrelated responsibilities to teachers. DeshGujarat