By Firstdespatch Desk Jul 16, 2026
Agartala, July 16 (FD) The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) has urged the state government to exempt government school teachers from duties related to the upcoming Census 2027, contending that the state's severe shortage of teaching staff has already undermined the quality of education.
In a letter to Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, TPCC president Asish Kumar Saha appealed to the government to deploy educated contractual employees and other eligible personnel for census-related assignments instead of teachers.
Pointing to the ongoing shortage of educators, Saha said around 18,000 teaching posts across different levels of the School Education Department remain vacant. He also claimed that more than 450 government schools in Tripura are operating with only one teacher, citing findings of NITI Aayog.
"The state government always boast for improving the education sector, but the persistent shortage of teachers has placed an excessive burden on those currently serving. Teachers should be permitted to focus on teaching rather than being repeatedly assigned administrative responsibilities," he said.
According to the Congress leader, frequent deployment of teachers for non-academic government duties, including elections and census operations, has disrupted classroom teaching and adversely affected students, parents and the overall education system.
The first phase of Census 2027, comprising house listing and house enumeration, is scheduled to be conducted in Tripura from August 1 to August 30.
Saha further urged the government to relieve teachers from their responsibilities as Booth Level Officers (BLOs), arguing that such a step would enable them to devote more time to academic activities and improve learning outcomes in government schools.
Expressing concern over the recent Supreme Court ruling requiring in-service government teachers to possess a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) qualification, Saha said the order, if implemented without suitable relaxation, could affect nearly 10,000 teachers in Tripura and further deepen the state's teacher shortage.
He appealed to the state government to take up the issue with the Centre and seek an appropriate solution to protect the interests of teachers while ensuring continuity in the education system.
Reiterating the need for urgent reforms, the TPCC president called on the government to launch a transparent recruitment drive to fill long-pending teaching vacancies, stressing that strengthening school education should take priority over assigning teachers to non-academic government responsibilities. FD JK