Convener News Desk
Bandipora, December 10: The Jammu & Kashmir Teachers Forum (JKTF), District Bandipora, has expressed deep resentment and firm opposition to the recent government order directing teachers to serve as nodal officers for stray dog management, terming the move inappropriate, unjustified and professionally degrading for the teaching community.
In a detailed statement issued by Chief Spokesperson JKTF Bandipora, Anjum Nisar, the Forum said the directive reflects a serious lack of understanding of the role, responsibility and dignity of teachers, whose primary mandate is academic delivery, classroom instruction, student mentoring, and upholding educational standards in schools across the district.
Nisar said teachers constitute the backbone of the education system and cannot be diverted towards duties that have no connection whatsoever with their professional expertise. He pointed out that stray dog management is exclusively the responsibility of municipal bodies, veterinary departments and animal welfare agencies, which possess the technical knowledge, trained manpower and institutional infrastructure needed to handle such tasks.
“Assigning teachers to monitor or manage stray dogs not only misuses their services but also places them in unsafe and untrained situations. It is both unjust and demoralising for educators who are already burdened with multiple non-teaching assignments,” Anjum Nisar stated.
He warned that such directives severely disrupt school functioning, divert teachers from their academic commitments, and send a discouraging message to thousands of educators striving to maintain the quality of education.
The Forum further stressed that stray dog control is a specialised administrative matter requiring operational expertise far beyond the scope of school teaching staff. “This order amounts to a violation of professional ethics. Teachers cannot and should not be assigned duties beyond their training, mandate and designated responsibilities. Such actions undermine teacher morale and indirectly affect the academic environment for students,” the statement said.
JKTF Bandipora has urgently appealed to the Education Minister and senior government authorities to personally intervene, revoke the order without delay, and ensure that teachers are not compelled to carry out responsibilities unrelated to the education sector.
Reaffirming its commitment to defending the rights, dignity and safety of teachers, the Forum reiterated that respect for educators is essential to safeguarding the sanctity and quality of the education system in Jammu and Kashmir. Nisar concluded by expressing hope that the government would take swift corrective action and restore teachers to their rightful role of shaping the academic growth and future of children across the Union Territory.
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