Jaipur- A 45-year-old government school teacher and BLO Mukesh Jangid allegedly jumped in front of a train near Bindayaka railway crossing in Jaipur. His family accused relentless deadlines and 12-hour daily shifts of driving him to despair. A suicide note recovered from his pocket detailed threats of suspension for unmet SIR targets, sleepless nights, and overwhelming stress from voter list revisions.

Coincidentally, over 2,500 km away in Kannur, Kerala, 44-year-old BLO and government school staffer Aneesh George was found hanging at his home the same day. Relatives attributed his death to similar SIR-induced exhaustion, noting he often labored until 2 a.m. to complete forms and distribute them across his booth area. Family member Shyam recounted the "immense pressure" that left Aneesh unable to rest, mirroring the Jaipur case.

The incident has triggered widespread protests across Rajasthan, with educators and legislators demanding an overhaul of policies that force them into a web of non-teaching duties, sidelining their core role in classrooms.

BJP MLA Vishwaraj Singh from the Nathdwara constituency has invoked Rule 295 of the Assembly's Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules to demand a comprehensive review of the state's education policy. In a strongly worded letter to the Secretary of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, titled "Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Procedure and Conduct Rules Rule 295: Education Policy and Assigning Responsibility for Education to Teachers in an Organized Manner," the missive addresses longstanding systemic failures in the education sector, particularly the excessive non-teaching duties imposed on educators that undermine their primary role in classrooms.

Singh questions the efficacy of decades-old educational schemes, asserting that India has not achieved its intended learning objectives despite numerous initiatives. He identifies a key reason: teachers, whom he describes as modern-day gurus revered for imparting knowledge, are instead burdened with approximately 17 extraneous tasks unrelated to instruction. These include administrative errands and implementation of various schemes, which he argues have been offloaded onto educators' shoulders, regardless of their direct link to teaching.

Drawing a historical parallel, Singh laments the irony of such impositions, noting that "it must never have happened that a guru was assigned administrative or other tasks—what kind of government frames such rules?" He highlights the stark disconnect between verbal endorsements of teachers' importance and their on-ground reality, where these duties persist unchecked. This overload, he contends, fosters disillusionment among dedicated educators, hindering their ability to focus on schools and exacerbating staffing shortages. In his constituency of Nathdwara, for instance, around 25% of teaching positions remain vacant, a situation worsened by the unchecked expansion of schools without adequate recruitment.

The MLA warns that under these circumstances, attracting committed teachers to government institutions is untenable, as overburdened staff remain trapped in bureaucratic roles, leaving classrooms understaffed. Concluding with a poignant critique, Singh states: "We easily proclaim that the future of the country lies in children's hands, but in whose hands are we leaving their future?" The letter calls for an urgent policy overhaul to streamline responsibilities and prioritize teaching.

Education stakeholders view Singh's intervention as a timely push for reform, especially as the state assembly's winter session approaches. While the Education Department has yet to respond, the letter underscores a growing consensus on the need to alleviate administrative pressures to revitalize public schooling in Rajasthan.