COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore wing of the Tamil Nadu Postgraduate Teachers Association (TNPGTA) has asked the district administration to exempt postgraduate teachers from the upcoming population census, saying they need to prepare Class 12 students for public examinations.
Mohammad Kaja Muhaideen, a TNPGTA functionary, told TNIE that block-wise census training was being conducted for teachers and that mapping work would be assigned to them from August 1 to 31.
"Depending on the area, teachers will be asked to do mapping work and conduct the census for at least 200-300 houses. Teachers have to visit households and update 33 types of information in the designated application, such as house location, address, direction, and family members. As there is already a shortage in the primary section, many postgraduate teachers have been roped in for this. Postgraduate teachers still need to complete the syllabus for their students according to the academic calendar and prepare Class 12 students for board exams. We conduct special classes in the morning and evening and hold special tests. If we are engaged in census work, students' education will be affected," he said.
A postgraduate teacher at a government higher secondary school in the city, on condition of anonymity, said that out of 27 postgraduate teachers, only seven had not been assigned census duty.
She said it would be difficult for seven teachers to handle around 300 students in a day. "The district administration has not allotted any dedicated time for the census work, yet we have been asked to complete it within a month. We have to spend at least half a day on this work. Under such circumstances, it will be practically difficult to carry out both teaching and census duties," she said.
According to sources, around 4,000 personnel, including teachers, professors, ICDS staff, will take part in the upcoming population census.
Repeated attempts to reach District Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar went in vain.