College teachers in West Bengal unhappy over poll duties for panchayat elections

West Bengal College and University Teachers’ Association (WBCUTA), a prominent teachers’ body, has written to the State Election Commission, demanding that teaching staff not be assigned election duties

College teachers in West Bengal are unhappy that senior members of the teaching staff have been assigned — against rules — booth-level duties for the panchayat elections in the State scheduled to be held on July 8.

According to them, assistant professors and associate professors cannot be assigned booth-level election duties as the returning officer happens to be the Block Development Officer, whose pay scale is lower than that of the professors.

Just before the last panchayat elections in 2018, the State Election Commission had written to district magistrates reiterating that “seniority of officials should properly be taken care of while giving election-related duty and it should be ensured that a senior official is not put on duty under an official who is quite junior to him/her.”

“College teachers across the State have been assigned election duties in the coming panchayat polls. Numerous assistant professors and associate professors, even the principals of some colleges, have been appointed as presiding officers. This is against rules. Also, colleges are busy conducting internal examinations and teachers have also been allotted invigilation duties for the ensuing final semester examinations,” said an associate professor of a State Government-aided college located on the outskirts of Kolkata, asking not to be named.

The teacher said the professors planned to approach their district magistrates to seek cancellation of their duties. Elections to 63,239 seats at the gram panchayat level, 9,730 seats at the panchayat samiti level and 928 zilla parishad seats are scheduled to be held on July 8, and the State Government doesn’t have enough poll officials to hold such a massive election on a single day.

West Bengal College and University Teachers’ Association (WBCUTA), a prominent teachers’ body, has written to the State Election Commission, demanding that teaching staff not be assigned election duties. “We would like to draw your kind attention to the order of the Election Commission of India, dated February 16, 2010, when it was stated categorically that Group A or equivalent Senior Officer, including the officers and teaching staff of universities, colleges etc. should not be drafted for polling duties in polling station premises without specific reason to be recorded in writing by the district election officer, where such appointments become unavoidable,” WBCUTA said in a letter to the State Election Commission.

“Such appointments for election duties in polling booths violate the norms set out in the verdicts of Punjab and Haryana High Court and subsequent directive issued by the Election Commission of India to the chief electoral officers of all the States,” the letter said.