Jaipur: The education department has withdrawn an order of the Chief Block Education Officer (CBEO) in Nainwa of Bundi district that mandated the deployment of teachers and educational staff for a religious programme.The controversial directive issued Monday for the deployment of govt employees from Feb 2 to Feb 7 at a temple in Bansi village was rescinded late Tuesday following political opposition and widespread backlash from teachers’ organisations and civil society groups.“The matter came to light Tuesday, after which the officer concerned was directed to withdraw the order,” a senior official in the education department said. He also noted that the CBEO concerned had failed to seek necessary approvals from higher authorities before issuing the order. OP Bunkar, the CBEO who had issued the order, defended his actions and attributed the episode to “human error”. “It was a mistake that occurred in the rush of work; as soon as the issue was highlighted, I cancelled the order the same day,” Bukar claimed.The order faced severe criticism, particularly from the opposition Congress party, which labeled it inappropriate and in violation of service norms. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Tikaram Jully, argued that the involvement of govt teachers in non-academic religious activities posed a threat to the secular nature of the education system.“This is not a one-off incident. Such actions are being repeatedly seen under education minister Madan Dilawar,” Jully alleged.While teachers’ organisations applauded the withdrawal, they called for the establishment of clear guidelines to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
