Calling for an IEnS

India often says that teachers are very important because they help build the future. But in real life, teachers are asked to do many jobs that are not about teaching.

For example, teachers are sent to do census work (counting people), help with elections, collect data for government schemes, and even take part in surveys. This means they have less time and energy to teach students. At the same time, there are already about 10 lakh teaching jobs empty in schools. So when teachers are taken away from classrooms, students lose out even more.

Also, this work is not done just once—it happens again and again. And since teachers are not specially trained for these tasks, the data they collect may not always be very accurate. Imagine being asked to do a job you are not trained for, in hot weather, using apps that don’t work well—it would be frustrating, right?

So what’s the solution?

Some countries, like the United States, have a special team just for this kind of work. They have trained people who collect data full-time. This helps them get better and more reliable information.

India could do something similar by creating an Indian Enumeration Service (IEnS). This would be a group of trained people whose main job is to collect important data.

Instead of pulling teachers out of schools, the government could also involve college students. There are crores of young people studying in universities who are good with technology and could help with surveys. This would give them useful experience too.

If trained people handle data collection:

• Teachers can focus on teaching
• Students get better education
• Data becomes more accurate
• Government plans work better

In the end, this would help everyone—from better schools to better roads and services.

Right now, teachers are doing too much outside the classroom. It’s time to let them do what they do best: teach.

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