<p>Ahmedabad: In a fresh controversy, the Gujarat government has issued a circular directing schoolteachers to conduct an immediate survey of stray dogs on their school campuses and send reports to their respective district education offices within three days.</p>.<p>The direction follows a similar move by a Bihar local body that, in early-January, asked teachers of government schools to compile similar data. </p>.<p>The Gujarat circular, which the deputy director of education in Gandhinagar issued on Wednesday, emphasises that this task should be given priority as it pertains to a "Supreme Court matter".</p>.<p>Taking suo motu cognisance of the stray dog menace across the country, the Supreme Court has directed state governments to compile data on dogs across education institutions, hospitals, dispensaries, bus stations, railway stations, and other public places.</p>.<p>The Gujarat government's notification has sparked a controversy, with teachers' bodies and Opposition parties protesting the move, saying that it would burden the teachers with non-academic work. </p>.<p>Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi alleged that teachers in the state had been assigned non-academic duties for a very long time, which were affecting teaching.</p>.<p>He also claimed that there are over 3,000 schools run by just a single teacher each. </p>.<p>Education Minister Pradyumn Vaja, however, told reporters that the circular was issued in the wake of a Supreme Court order.</p>.<p>"The work is limited only to one’s own school, and there is no further requirement to visit or conduct surveys at any external locations,” he said.</p>.<p>Earlier, another controversy had hit the state following the state government's directive that asked talatis-cum-mantris (village-level administrative officers) to catch stray dogs within their respective jurisdictions, sterilise them, and send them to shelter homes.</p>.<p>An organisation representing talatis wrote to the state government calling the new responsibility "insulting" as well as "impractical".</p>
<p>Ahmedabad: In a fresh controversy, the Gujarat government has issued a circular directing schoolteachers to conduct an immediate survey of stray dogs on their school campuses and send reports to their respective district education offices within three days.</p>.<p>The direction follows a similar move by a Bihar local body that, in early-January, asked teachers of government schools to compile similar data. </p>.<p>The Gujarat circular, which the deputy director of education in Gandhinagar issued on Wednesday, emphasises that this task should be given priority as it pertains to a "Supreme Court matter".</p>.<p>Taking suo motu cognisance of the stray dog menace across the country, the Supreme Court has directed state governments to compile data on dogs across education institutions, hospitals, dispensaries, bus stations, railway stations, and other public places.</p>.<p>The Gujarat government's notification has sparked a controversy, with teachers' bodies and Opposition parties protesting the move, saying that it would burden the teachers with non-academic work. </p>.<p>Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi alleged that teachers in the state had been assigned non-academic duties for a very long time, which were affecting teaching.</p>.<p>He also claimed that there are over 3,000 schools run by just a single teacher each. </p>.<p>Education Minister Pradyumn Vaja, however, told reporters that the circular was issued in the wake of a Supreme Court order.</p>.<p>"The work is limited only to one’s own school, and there is no further requirement to visit or conduct surveys at any external locations,” he said.</p>.<p>Earlier, another controversy had hit the state following the state government's directive that asked talatis-cum-mantris (village-level administrative officers) to catch stray dogs within their respective jurisdictions, sterilise them, and send them to shelter homes.</p>.<p>An organisation representing talatis wrote to the state government calling the new responsibility "insulting" as well as "impractical".</p>