PTI
New Delhi
The Centre on Friday amended the Census Rules, 1990, allowing states and Union territories to appoint teachers of “aided or unaided private bodies” as enumerators during the Census, in the backdrop of various high courts staying the orders of government officials requisitioning services
of such staff.
A gazette notification issued by Registrar General of India (RGI) Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said “teachers, clerks, or any official or any person” can be appointed as census officers by state governments and Union territories
as enumerators.
Friday’s notification specifies that “teachers of any educational institution of the government, local authority, aided or unaided private bodies, societies or trusts; (ii) Clerks or any official of the central government, state government, local authority or establishment (including public sector undertakings, statutory bodies, banks, companies, institutions, societies and trusts); (iii) Any person, as the state government or the Union territory administration may consider suitable” can be appointed as Census officers to perform duties as an enumerator.
The changes come as various high courts across the country have given relief to teachers of aided or unaided private bodies from being roped in for duties as enumerators during the ongoing Census.
Recently on a petition filed by Haryana Progressive Schools Conference in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the requisition and deployment of teaching staff from private unaided schools for census duty, Justice Harpreet Singh Brar had stayed the operation of two Haryana government communications seeking details of available teachers for census duty.
The matter has now been listed for April 29, 2027.
The petitioner contended that the government has no statutory authority under the Census Act, 1948, or the rules framed thereunder to requisition the teaching staff of private unaided schools for appointment as enumerators or supervisors for census duty.
The plea said that Section 4A of the Census Act specifically contemplates making available officers and staff of local authorities for census-related work, whereas private unaided schools and their employees do not fall within the definition or scope of “local authority”.
In May, the Allahabad High Court had also stayed the orders of the District Inspector of Schools, Gautam Budh Nagar, seeking list of teaching and nonteaching staff all aided and unaided institutions for the purposes of census duty on similar ground.
