Page 22 - EW-January-2026

Education News

converted into silica gel. Subsequently ment and aided schools
the receipt will be converted into cash to discharge election
by our service delivery partner, who duties, private unaided
will market the end product,” says education institutions
Prof. Goyal. had hitherto remained
Team AgriSil is optimistic about a exempt since they are
win-win outcome of this project. Pun- registered and affiliated
jab’s rice and wheat farmers will ben- by the State, not estab-
efit by enhancement of 10-20 percent lished and/or funded by
of their crop income; the citizenry of the State.
the northern plains will benefit by way In 2019, in Unaided
of substantial improvement in AQI as Schools Forum (USF)
stubble burning reportedly contrib- vs. State Election Com-
utes 30-40 percent to the PM 2.5 con- mission, a division
centrates that choke Delhi and several Malik: unjustified directive bench of the Bombay
other north Indian cities every winter. high court had ruled
Moreover, Chitkara University’s in- cal government elections has been that teachers and non-teaching staff
dustry partner (yet to be finalized) will completed, polls to 29 municipal of unaided private schools cannot
turn a profit by marketing the silica corporations in the state’s Mumbai be called for election duty since they
gel produced by CURIN technology. and Pune regions remain pending are not covered under s. 159 (2) (IV)
Although ex facie the Chitkara Uni- with polling scheduled for January of the Representation of People Act.
versity-AgriSil project to convert rice 15. The back story is that last month The Act is only applicable to staff of
stubble waste into marketable silica for the first time ever, the state gov- an institution established by or un-
gel offers great promise, the history ernment issued a circular directing der a Central, Provincial or State Act,
of Indian industry is that numerous teachers of unaided private schools or to schools controlled, or financed
high-potential lab projects founder (of Mumbai and Pune region) to wholly or substantially by the Central
on the rock of implementation. In this report for election duty training. The or state government.
context, it is pertinent to note that un- circular bluntly states that teachers evertheless in Maharashtra, the
til recently Beijing, the national capi- failing to show up for training and Nstate government has a tradi-
tal of neighbouring China, routinely election duty will be liable for puni- tion of bullying teachers of private
suffered AQI exceeding 500-600. This tive police action. unaided schools to discharge election
winter Beijing’s AQI averages 85-90. “The government has some duties. Last year, the government
Where there is will there is a way… justification for directing govern- began to collate manpower data
Autar Nehru (Delhi) ment and aided school teachers to and had sent directives to unaided
do election duty as their salaries are schools to register staff for poll duty.
MAHARASHTRA paid by government, and they could However when unaided schools re-
Bullying tradition be termed government employees. sisted the directive, the government
But they can’t force private unaided
dropped the matter.
Last October in a pre-emptive
blowback school teachers to do likewise as move, several representative organ-
their salaries are not paid by govern-
ment. Moreover, most private school
isations of private schools including
he state’s incumbent mahayuti teachers were already on vacation on the Unaided Schools Forum (USF),
coalition government (BJP, December 22, and in January, they PUSMA and Independent English
TShiv Sena and Nationalist will be busy with exam preparations Schools Association (IESA) repre-
Congress Party) has aroused the and cannot be involved in election senting more than 300-member
wrath of teachers of private unaided work,” says Bharat Malik, founder, institutions, filed for an order in the
(independent) schools. Its Decem- National Independent Schools Alli- Bombay high court pleading exemp-
ber 22 diktat that unaided school ance (NISA), former president, Pri- tion for their teachers from election
teachers discharge election duties vate Unaided School Managements duty. However even as the applica-
in the on-going local government Association (PUSMA) and founder, tion is pending hearing, teachers
elections covering 288 councils and Arya Gurukul Group of Schools. who failed to attend the election duty
nagar panchayats has been opposed While s.159 of the Representa- training programmes have received
by them, and private independent tion of People Act, 1951, permits the showcause notices from government.
schools have moved the high court. Election Commission and its officials “Government is blind and unap-
Although a major chunk of lo- to requisition teachers of govern- preciative that pulling out teachers

22 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2026