South Dinajpur DPSC crisis: Teachers double up as clerks

BALURGHAT: The District Primary School Education Department (DPSC) of South Dinajpur, located in Balurghat, has been grappling with an acute staff shortage for more than three years, raising serious concerns over both administrative efficiency and the quality of primary education in the district.

According to sources, nearly six teachers from state-run primary schools have been deputed to work as clerks at the DPSC office as a stopgap arrangement to manage routine administrative work. These teachers continue to shoulder their regular teaching responsibilities in their respective schools while simultaneously handling clerical duties at the district office. The affected school circles include Balurghat Sadar, Balurghat East, Gangarampur North and Kumarganj.

The prolonged arrangement has triggered strong reactions from teachers’ organisations, which fear long-term damage to classroom teaching. Rajnarayan Goswami, district president of the Trinamool Congress-backed primary teachers’ organisation, said that the organisation has formally written to DPSC chairman Santosh Kumar Hansda, urging him to intervene in the matter.

Goswami warned that engaging teachers in clerical work for extended periods would inevitably hamper education in the concerned schools.

He suggested that a rotational system, where teachers are deputed for shorter durations, could be considered as a temporary alternative to reduce academic disruption.

Echoing similar concerns, Sankar Ghosh, district secretary of the All Bengal Primary Teachers’ Association, termed the situation “unacceptable.” He said teachers should not be burdened with non-academic duties on a long-term basis. Ghosh stressed that if permanent staff recruitment is delayed, the authorities should consider appointing temporary or contractual staff to manage office work and ease the crisis.

Responding to the criticism, DPSC chairman Santosh Kumar Hansda acknowledged the staff shortage and said: “The matter would be taken up with higher authorities for recruitment of regular employees.”

He added that, for the time being, teachers could extend limited assistance to ensure that essential council work does not come to a standstill.