Controversy in Haryana over Teachers Assigned Dog-Monitoring Duty; Anurag Dhanda Targets BJP

Chandigarh, Dec 2025 : Following Delhi, Haryana is now embroiled in a controversy over assigning teachers the duty of counting and monitoring stray dogs. In protest against this BJP government decision, teachers in Kaithal have staged sit-ins, asserting that they were appointed to teach children, not to supervise dogs and other animals. Assigning this responsibility from schools to universities highlights the government’s anti-education approach.

Anurag Dhanda, Aam Aadmi Party’s national media in-charge, strongly criticized the BJP government, stating that such decisions show the party neither cares about education nor respects teachers. Haryana’s education system is already in poor condition, yet the government is pushing teachers into non-academic work instead of addressing systemic issues.

Government data underscores the problem: Haryana has nearly 14,000 government schools but over 30,000 teacher positions remain vacant. About 85–90% of schools operate without permanent headmasters. Many schools have only one teacher for 400–500 students. Despite this, the Kaithal District Education Officer’s order on December 24, 2025, designated nodal officers in every school to monitor stray dogs, effectively making teachers responsible for counting and reporting them.

The issue extends beyond schools. At Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, a December 24, 2025, order assigned professors the responsibility of monitoring stray dogs on campus. Clearly, the BJP government has turned educational institutions into administrative and surveillance centers rather than places of learning.

Dhanda questioned why, when 70–75% of government schools lack permanent watchmen, with one watchman often responsible for two to three schools and campuses being insecure at night, the government is burdening teachers with this task. If the concern is truly about stray animals, why not recruit dedicated animal control staff for schools and colleges?

He further stated that Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini must decide whether teachers in Haryana are to teach or monitor dogs. By turning teachers into BLOs, watchmen, and now dog wardens, the BJP government has undermined the dignity of the teaching profession. This decision jeopardizes not just teachers but the future of millions of children in Haryana.

The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded separate government recruitment for this duty and an immediate stop to the humiliation of teachers. The people of Haryana will no longer tolerate a mindset that treats education as a burden and teachers as forced labor.