The Gujarat Rajya Adhyapak Mahamandal has asked the state government to exempt college faculty from 2027 population census duties, warning of serious disruption to academic schedules.

In a memorandum submitted on Friday, the association stressed that teachers are already engaged in examinations, assessments, mentoring and result declaration-responsibilities requiring precision and strict timelines. Assigning census work, it argued, would compromise education quality and strain institutional efficiency.

Faculty members are currently serving as supervisors, observers and coordinators during ongoing exams, while many colleges face shortages of non teaching staff, forcing teachers to shoulder administrative tasks alongside teaching. "We respect government duties and have always fulfilled election responsibilities. But burdening teachers with census work at this critical academic time will affect students and the education system," said office bearer Rajendra Jadav.

The body noted that the rollout of the four year honours programme under the National Education Policy 2020 and the upcoming centralised admission process demand teachers' full attention. It urged the government to deploy alternative administrative arrangements in the larger interest of higher education.