Hyderabad: The Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TS UTF) has strongly opposed the additional non-teaching responsibilities being imposed on teachers working in social welfare schools, urging authorities to recognise their human dignity and reduce the excessive workload.

On Monday, TS UTF President Chava Ravi and General Secretary A Venkat criticised recent directives requiring three teachers to stay overnight at schools daily and mandating four teachers to be on duty during Sundays and holidays. They highlighted that teachers are now compelled to register attendance through Facial Recognition Systems at 11 p.m., a responsibility that effectively reduces their role to that of watchmen, despite the presence of two security guards and a designated caretaker.

The federation expressed concern that teachers working on holidays are being denied a weekly off, forcing them to remain on duty for up to fifteen consecutive days. Teachers are also required to perform night duty at least twice a week and continue working until the following afternoon, a schedule that TS UTF described as inhumane and unsustainable.

Chava Ravi and Venkat stressed that Gurukul teachers are not robots but individuals with families and rights that must be respected. They lamented that teachers’ unions were not given an opportunity to meet the society secretary to present their grievances. TS UTF demanded the immediate withdrawal of the orders assigning additional duties and called for constructive dialogue between officials and teachers’ unions to resolve the issues. The federation emphasised that reducing the burden of non-teaching work is essential to safeguard the well-being of educators and ensure that their primary focus remains on teaching and nurturing students.