Students in several government senior secondary schools across Ajnala remained out of classrooms on Tuesday as teachers were called for a special meeting regarding the census duty, disrupting education in villages still recovering from last year’s floods.As new sessions begin in all government schools in the rural border belt of Ajnala, around 600 teachers of government senior secondary, middle and primary schools have been assigned census duty as enumerators and supervisors. The extent of teacher shortage crisis in border belt schools forced several middle schools to close down for the day as the entire teaching staff attending the special meeting on census duties.“We have five teachers and all of us have been assigned Census duties. We had to send students back as there was no one to teach,” said a teacher from a middle school in Sarangdev. Another middle school in Sufian and in Urdhan remained close as all teachers were called for the Census duty registration. These schools have a student strength of between 250-300 students.Even in bigger senior secondary schools, teaching remained affected as more than 70 per cent teaching staff was not present today. As many as 23 teachers each from Government Senior Secondary School, Boys, and Government Senior Secondary School, Girls, have been put on Census duty. Similarly, 15 of 22 teachers from Government Senior Secondary School, Gaggomahal, are on Census duty.“There is already shortage of teacher in government schools in border belt. To engage such high number of teachers in non-teaching duties adds to the burden and disrupts classroom teaching,” said a master cadre teacher from Government School, Gaggomahal. Most of these schools were hit hard during the Ajnala floods last year, remaining shut for almost two months. Now, with disruption early in the school year, the students are the worst affected.“From the Cenus 2027 to the Punjab Government’s drug census, from registering beneficiaries for the Punjab Government’s CM health insurance scheme to working as booth-level officers (BLOs) and for the Election Commission’s SIR exercise, teachers are doing everything, despite ministers claiming otherwise. At least 90 per cent teachers in Ajnala border schools are posted from outstation, including Gurdaspur and Pathankot and commute every day for work. How would the duties work even if it these are after school hours?” says a government teacher at a school in Bhoewali.