India: Teachers Forced to Manage Stray Dogs & Venomous Wildlife

• Teachers in some Indian states are being assigned non-academic duties, including managing stray animals and preventing wildlife entry into schools.
• In J&K, teachers are designated nodal officers for monitoring stray dogs; in Chhattisgarh, they prevent dogs, snakes, and scorpions from entering school premises.
• Karnataka schools are ordered to count stray dogs on campuses following a Supreme Court directive.
• Educators and associations criticize these tasks as "absurd" and "dangerous," arguing they fall outside their professional expertise.
• This trend adds to a long pattern of teachers being diverted for non-academic duties like election work, census, and welfare scheme administration.

Why It Matters: Teachers are burdened with risky non-academic duties, diverting from core education.