Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala child rights panel on Thursday directed the concerned authorities to ensure that the deployment of teachers for the upcoming census does not adversely affect students' academic activities.

In an order, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights directed the state census commissioner and the chief secretary to issue appropriate instructions to district-level principal census officers to ensure that teachers are assigned duties in a manner that does not disrupt classroom teaching or students' learning.

According to a statement, the commission recommended that the state census commissioner constitute a high-level committee comprising the concerned officials to examine issues related to the deployment of teachers, particularly higher secondary school teachers already assigned census duties, and to review the future assignment of teachers for the exercise.

The panel should examine the feasibility of engaging government employees from departments other than the education department, as well as educated job seekers registered with employment exchanges, for census-related work, the commission said.

It recommended that the state census commissioner issue comprehensive guidelines after considering complaints, shortcomings, and suggestions related to the deployment of personnel for census duty.

The recommendations were made by Commission Chairperson K V Manoj Kumar and member P Shajesh Bhaskar.

The commission issued the order after receiving complaints alleging that assigning school teachers to census duty was seriously affecting academic activities, examination-related work, and the overall quality of education, thereby infringing upon children's fundamental right to education.