Teachers in the Indian state of Rajasthan were given a new task: to collect stool samples from students to assess the effectiveness of deworming measures. This provoked protests from the Teachers' Association.
The Hindustan Times reported on July 15 that the Rajasthan State School Education Board issued an order on July 11 to all district education officials (deos) and the samaga shiksha abhiyan district project coordinator to conduct an investigation of students from July 5 to study worms found in their feces.
The World Deworming Initiative is a nonprofit evidence action-led project to support governments in Kenya, India, Ethiopia and Vietnam in developing school-based pest control programs. The teachers were told that, after convincing the parents, they would accompany the NGO team to the students' homes to collect stool samples.
The NGO conducted the survey because, despite deworming campaigns at the government level, there were bugs in the students' bodies. It will collect samples of 50 children from each of the state's 25 districts in public schools.
At the same time, teachers are protesting the new task, with the Teachers' Association saying, "Teachers should teach in schools, such a task undermines our dignity." He added that teachers have been overwhelmed by censuses, elections, admissions and other responsibilities. The government should use its health workers to do this. The investigation has not yet begun, but whenever it starts, we will protest."
However, local education officials said that NGO volunteers would collect samples when the time came, and teachers only needed to accompany them to the students' homes and convince parents.