West Bengal teachers spared weekend Census duty as government withdraws notice

The West Bengal government has informed the Calcutta High Court that it is withdrawing its notice directing government school teachers to carry out Census-related work on weekends. This announcement was made after the court questioned the lack of coordination between the centre and the state over teachers’ timing on census duties.

Calcutta High Court had earlier raised concerns over assigning census work outside school hours, saying that it could affect teachers’ ability to carry out their regular teaching responsibilities. It further questioned how schools would function if a large chunk of the teachers were deployed for enumeration work.

Based on earlier reports, Census authorities had asked the teachers to consider Census work as a paid assignment and that local officials could decide the working hours based on operational requirements. With the latest developments kicking in, the teachers who had been asked to complete census assignments after school hours and on weekends are now relieved. 

Census duty created staffing concern

The issue had added to concerns over the availability of teachers in West Bengal government schools. Several schools had already identified teachers for Census duty and had sent them for batch training. School heads had warned that prolonged deployment would affect classroom teaching and force them to make alternative arrangements.

Earlier, schools had considered measures such as weekly rosters and class schedules to manage the shortage. One Kolkata government school had reported that 15 teachers were selected for Census work, while others had already been handling election-related responsibilities as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Schools across districts such as North 24 Parganas and Bardhaman had also anticipated teacher shortages.

Teachers face growing workload

West Bengal school teachers had also pointed out that they had dumped an additional burden of collecting household information and uploading data through mobile applications. Moreover, frequent changes in digital platforms have increased the workload of teachers, especially those who are less comfortable with technology.

The Calcutta High Court intervened after petitions were filed against the deployment of teachers for Census duties. During an August 14, 2026 hearing, the court suggested that the authorities consider only selecting a handful of teachers from each school instead of bulk deployment. This would help maintain the regular teaching schedule

With the state now withdrawing its weekend-duty notice, the immediate dispute over teachers’ working weekends has receded. However, schools still face the challenge of managing Census work without affecting regular classes as the larger Census exercise approaches.