BENGALURU: More than one lakh government school teachers, including those from primary, higher primary and high schools, will be roped in for the enumeration of the population census 2027 across the state starting from April 16. The process of self-evaluation has already begun across the state from April 1. It will continue till April 15.
However, teachers have already expressed displeasure over the census duty assigned to them. They have said that there is no vacations or holidays for them due to extra workload apart from academic work assigned to them by the Department of School Education and Literacy.
After evaluating exam papers, they have to rush door-to-door collecting data on the total number of family members.
In 2025, teachers were involved in the social and educational survey, because of which the government had extended Dasara holidays. Later, teachers had to rush in terms of completing the syllabus for the academic year 2025-26.
Speaking to TNIE, a high school teacher from Chikkaballapur government high school said, “I am on SSLC exam duty and April 2 will be the last exam. From April 7 to 12, we need to finish the evaluation of answer papers of exam-1. From April 16, we need to rush to complete the population census.
With the harsh summer, we need to do this job from 6.30am to 11.30am and resume again from 4.30pm to 8.30pm. Again, we have to resume exam duty for SSLC exam-1 from the first week of May 2026. At least they exempt SSLC exam evaluators like us. It is difficult to manage it throughout the year.”
Chandrashekar Nuggali, president, Karnataka State Primary School Teachers Association (KPSTA), said they have written to the Revenue Department to provide exemption for teachers above the age of 50 from Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process duty due to health issues as well as rising temperatures.
“This decision was taken after school teachers died on duty during the SIR process in other states. However, the Revenue Department has rejected our request. We had also requested the School Education Department to exempt teachers on SSLC exam duty from the population census job, but even that has been rejected. We have tried to speak to different ministers but nothing has worked in favour of teachers so far.”
Meanwhile, School Education and Literacy minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the issue of involving teachers for census enumeration was also discussed in the Assembly by CM Siddaramaiah and other ministers also as it only adds to their workload. “While we understand the problem, we cannot involve or outsource agencies for these kinds of important tasks requiring data collection. So we have to deploy teachers on census enumeration duty,” he said.
When asked if there is a discussion to bring a new Act to not involve teachers in any other jobs except academics, he said, “For now, there are no such talks, and it is difficult to bring one.”