Bareilly: A fresh order issued by the Basic Education Department in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district has triggered strong resentment among government school teachers, who have been asked to arrange hay for the maintenance of stray cattle while already being engaged in census-related duties.
Under the directive, every school has been assigned the responsibility of arranging 46 kg of hay, while each block has been given a target of collecting 100 quintals. The hay is to be deposited at the offices of the Block Development Officer or Veterinary Officer within a week.
The order, issued by the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) citing instructions from the district administration, warned of strict departmental action against schools and teachers found negligent in carrying out the task.
The directive quickly sparked outrage among teachers, many of whom said they were already burdened with non-academic duties such as census work, election assignments, BLO responsibilities and voter list revision exercises.
Teachers alleged that the administration was forcing them into work unrelated to education and accused officials of undermining the dignity of the teaching profession.
“Teachers are already under stress because of excessive workload. Such impractical orders are increasing harassment further. Today they are asking us to provide hay, tomorrow they may ask us to lift cow dung,” a teacher said.
After the Basic Education Department’s letter surfaced, Block Education Officers in Nawabganj, Bhojipura and Bhuta issued separate instructions at their respective levels. A letter issued by the Nawabganj Block Education Officer on May 22 later went viral on social media. Copies of the order were also sent to the BSA and the veterinary department.
The department directed schools to arrange hay independently and deposit it at designated offices. Schools were also asked to submit receipts after depositing the fodder so that collection targets could be monitored.
As criticism mounted, District Magistrate Avinash Singh said he was not aware of the specific order issued to teachers. However, he maintained that the administration was making efforts at every level for the protection and maintenance of stray cattle.
He said stray cattle were being housed in temporary and permanent gaushalas across the district and efforts were underway to move cattle roaming on roads into shelters. The administration was also developing new gaushalas to tackle the growing problem.
The district magistrate appealed to people to voluntarily donate hay to gaushalas according to their financial capacity.
“We have created hay banks in every block so that there is no shortage of fodder for cattle during emergencies. Arrangements are also being made for green fodder through grazing land development and procurement from farmers,” he said.
Singh further said elderly and sick cattle were being monitored under the supervision of veterinary teams and district-level officials. He also appealed to government officers to voluntarily adopt one stray cow each as part of the campaign. NGOs and social organisations are also expected to be involved in the initiative.
Meanwhile, education department officials defended the order. Nawabganj Block Education Officer Satyadev said teachers were initially reluctant to comply with the directions, which is why stricter wording and disciplinary warnings were used in the letter.
“This was not my personal order. It was issued on the instructions of the BSA. Not a single quintal of hay had been received till then, so strict compliance was sought,” he said.
He later clarified that the order had been modified and that hay donation for stray cattle maintenance was now completely voluntary without any pressure or compulsion.
Teacher organisations, however, continued to oppose the move and warned of protests if such directives continued.
United Teachers Association district president and state vice-president Bhanu Pratap Singh said teachers were appointed to educate children, not collect fodder.
“If such impractical orders are not stopped, teacher organisations will be forced to protest. Today pressure is being created for hay collection, tomorrow teachers may be ordered to collect cow dung,” he said.
UTA district vice-president Ramesh Maurya said the order was against the dignity of teachers and warned of state-wide protests if similar directives were imposed elsewhere.
District treasurer Hemant Kumar said teachers were already carrying out important duties like census work with sincerity and additional non-academic burdens were affecting them mentally.
Teacher Rakhi Gangwar also criticised the order, saying teachers were repeatedly being diverted from their primary responsibility of education.
“Teachers are already handling census work, BLO duties, voter lists, election duties and counting work. Asking them to collect hay by going door to door is completely unjustified,” she said.
She added that farmers themselves were struggling with fodder shortages and many had limited hay even for their own cattle. While teachers generally comply with government duties, she said, “wrong and unnecessary orders will continue to face opposition.”
