Teachers Won't Be Tasked With Counting Stray Dogs, Delhi Government Clarifies

Amid confusion over stray dog-related duties, the Delhi government clarified on Monday that teachers have not been assigned any such work.

The Directorate of Education (DoE), in an official statement, said no instructions have been issued asking teachers to count, track or maintain records of stray dogs, adding that recent reports were based on a misreading of official circulars.

The clarification comes against the backdrop of a Supreme Court order dated November 7, in a suo motu case titled "City Hounded by Stray, Kids Pay Price", which raised concerns over children's safety in public spaces. Following the order, the Delhi government held high-level meetings in November to chalk out steps to keep stray dogs out of schools and sports complexes.

As part of the follow-up, the Directorate of Education issued circulars on November 20 and December 5. At the same time, civic and land-owning agencies - including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), NDMC, Delhi Cantonment Board, Sports Authority of India and DDA, were asked to step up preventive and safety measures in areas under their control.

Officials stressed that the responsibility of implementation lies with school heads and civic bodies, not classroom teachers.

The focus, the DoE said, is on practical safety measures. These include repairing and strengthening boundary walls, gates and fencing, appointing a nodal officer for each institution, and displaying contact details prominently at school entrances. Institutions have also been asked to share nodal officer details with local civic agencies.

Schools will also conduct awareness sessions for students and staff on safe behaviour around animals, first aid in case of dog bites and immediate reporting protocols.

For stadiums and sports complexes, the guidelines call for round-the-clock security deployment to prevent stray dog entry.

Officials said the move is aimed purely at student safety and compliance with Supreme Court directions, and does not involve burdening teachers with additional non-teaching work.