The Cantonment Board Barrackpore has written to the headmistress of Cantonment Girls High School, asking her to send names of employees who will work as National Population Register enumerators.

The letter, signed by the CEO of the board, stated the “matter will be taken up with the appropriate authority” if the headmistress failed to comply with the instruction.

Seema Barui, the headmistress, said the board had earlier sent her a letter on February 4, asking her to send a list of the names of teachers and clerks who could take part in the NPR exercise.

In the second letter to the headmistress on February 13, the CEO said if she failed to send the list of names, “the matter will be taken up with the appropriate authority”.

“You are therefore once again directed to send the list of names of at least 15 numbers of teachers, clerks and other similar ranking officials… immediately so as to enable this office to send the same to the directorate of the census operations, West Bengal, failing which the matter will be taken up with the appropriate authority, ” said the letter.

Although the Cantonment Board functions as a municipal body, it is under the administrative control of the Directorate General Defence Estates in New Delhi. The school is affiliated to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education

Headmistress Barui said three other schools had received a similar notice. “As far as I know, the state government has objected to carrying out exercises like NPR. Until any such order (to send the names) comes from the school education department, we cannot comply with that,” she told The Telegraph.

Barui said she had gone to the Cantonment Board’s office on Thursday and conveyed her stand to them. “I told them our teachers are not willing to work as enumerators. I also informed them that we are facing a staff crunch and won’t be able to send staff. But they insisted that the school comply with the order as the NPR and census are bound to happen,” she said.

This newspaper called up a mobile number mentioned in the letterhead. The man who answered the call declined to comment. “Why should we comment on the issue? Besides, it’s Sunday and you have to call us on Monday,” said the official, who refused to identify himself.

The Telegraph then sent a screenshot of the letter to the number and sought a reaction. There was no response.

The website of the cantonment board says its CEO is Anant Akash.