SHILLONG, MAY 5: The Jaintia National Council (JNC) Khliehriat Circle on Tuesday submitted a formal objection to the Deputy Commissioner and Principal Census Officer, East Jaintia Hills District, seeking an immediate halt to the deployment of government school teachers for Census 2027 House Listing Operations, terming the practice a direct constitutional violation against tribal children in the district.

“Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, while permitting a limited exception for census duty, does not authorize the State to strip classrooms of teachers during active school hours, leaving tribal children whose only access to education is through government and private schools, without instruction,” JNC-KC working president Diamon Bareh said.

Citing judicial backing, he added, “The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in Chandani Devi & Ors vs State of UP (W.P. No. 26228/2021) has categorically affirmed this position. Furthermore, Section 25 of the RTE Act mandates that the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) must be maintained at all times, a mandate being openly defied across schools in East Jaintia Hills.”

“Article 21-A of the Constitution of India guarantees every child the Fundamental Right to Education. The administration cannot, in one breath, claim to uphold this right and, in the very next act, pull teachers out of classrooms for census paperwork,” Bareh said.

The Council also questioned the financial rationale behind the deployment.

“The Union Government has sanctioned ₹11,718.24 crore for Census 2027 — funds explicitly meant to cover enumeration workforce costs. JNC demands a public accounting: How much of this fund was used to hire civilian enumerators in East Jaintia Hills — and how much was saved by coercively deploying teachers? There is no financial justification. This is administrative laziness paid for by tribal children,” he said.

JNC further criticized the lack of outreach for the ongoing Self Enumeration window from May 1 to 15, 2026.

“In a district where the majority of rural households have no internet access and where the local language is absent from the Census portal, the so-called awareness campaign consisted of nothing more than social media posts and two written public notices — effectively excluding thousands of tribal families from being accurately counted in their own census. No block-level help desks. No village outreach. No community radio. No Dorbar Shnong engagement. None,” Bareh said, calling it a “double failure.”

The Council urged the Deputy Commissioner to immediately halt all teacher deployment orders during school hours, recruit civilian enumerators from the Census budget to create local employment while protecting education, and set up block-level Census Facilitation Help Desks with Pnar-speaking staff before May 15. It also sought an extension of the Self Enumeration window for remote blocks and a written compliance report within seven days disclosing teacher deployment figures and budget utilization.

The JNC warned it would escalate through different ways if the demands are not met.

The Deputy Commissioner said he would take up the matter with the state government.

“The students of East Jaintia Hills are not collateral damage to administrative convenience. We will not allow the constitutional rights of our communities to be sacrificed at the altar of bureaucratic shortcuts. The law is on our side — and we will use it,” Bareh said.