Controversies are brewing over allegations that differently-abled teachers employed in state-run schools in West Bengal are being assigned poll duties for the forthcoming panchayat elections. Even wheelchair-bound teachers have reportedly been issued notices to attend training for poll-related duties, according to Kinkar Adhikari, the state secretary of West Bengal Teachers’ Association. Adhikari claims that similar issues occurred during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls. The teachers’ association has called for an overall circular from the state election commission to prohibit the selection of differently-abled teachers for such duties.
The allotment of polling duties has also been a source of grievance to the teacher’s body. They claim that while it has been a long-standing tradition to allot polling duties to school teachers, headmasters or very senior teachers completing a specific period of teaching services in state-run schools should be assigned the duties of presiding officers instead of subordinate polling officers.
Further controversies have erupted over how the administration in Kolkata’s adjacent Howrah district has been assigning election-related duties to doctors associated with the state-run medical outfits. The Association of Health Service Doctors, West Bengal, has expressed objection to the development and written to the State Election Commission.
The West Bengal Teachers’ Association and the Association of Health Service Doctors are urging the state election commission to prioritize the welfare of teachers and doctors respectively, especially those who face physical challenges, while also ensuring smooth conduct of the electoral process.
