Jalandhar: Teachers have condemned being assigned election duty in remote areas.

Jalandhar: The Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), Jalandhar unit, has strongly condemned the administration for assigning teachers to election duty in far-flung areas for the upcoming Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections. In a press statement recently issued by the front’s district president Kulwinder Singh Joshan, secretary Jasvir Singh Sandhu, finance secretary Amrik Singh Senior, and vice-president Rajwinder Singh Dhanju, the organization expressed serious concern over the “harassment” being faced by school teachers. According to the DTF, several teachers have been assigned election duty at three different locations, making it impossible for them to report to all these places on time.
A DTF member alleged, “Teachers who are unable to report for their second or third duty are reportedly being issued notices, causing them undue stress and forcing them to make unnecessary trips to administrative offices to respond.” The front claimed that many polling duty locations were as far as 70 km from the teachers’ homes, causing them hardship and financial burden. The teacher leaders have urged the Election Commission to exempt widows, divorced women, mothers of young children, and pregnant women from election duty. The Democratic Teachers Front has demanded immediate attention to these issues, stating that teachers should not be subjected to “undue pressure or harassment” while performing election-related responsibilities.