After a brief pause for the Deepavali festivities, Karnataka’s much-debated Social and Educational Caste Survey has resumed across districts — but progress has been noticeably sluggish. The delay stems from a shortage of field enumerators, as many schoolteachers who previously assisted with data collection have not rejoined the process due to academic duties resuming post-holiday. The situation has caused concern among officials, who fear that the survey’s completion schedule may be further delayed, jeopardizing its timely submission and raising doubts about data reliability and accuracy.
Teachers’ Absence Hampers Enumeration Work
In earlier phases, schoolteachers played a crucial role in conducting door-to-door surveys, managing both digital data entry and verification processes. However, as schools reopen after the festival break, the Education Department has instructed teachers to prioritize classes, leaving the Social Welfare Department scrambling to find replacements. Many districts, including Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru, and Belagavi, have reported minimal daily progress, with enumerators struggling to cover even half of the assigned households per day. The absence of trained staff has significantly slowed data collection in both rural and urban areas.
Administrative Coordination Issues Surface
Officials coordinating the survey have admitted to logistical challenges, particularly in reassigning field duties to newly recruited temporary staff. Several of these recruits are yet to receive proper training on digital tablets and the complex questionnaire structure. Technical issues with data synchronization have added to the delay, with enumerators reporting frequent software lags and network failures. The lack of synchronization between district-level and taluk-level supervisors has also resulted in duplicated entries and incomplete uploads, further complicating the already delayed process.
Rural Areas Worst Hit by Delays
Rural regions, especially in north Karnataka, are experiencing the most severe setbacks. Teachers, who were the main force behind enumeration in these areas, are now unavailable, leaving local volunteers to shoulder the burden. Many villages remain partially surveyed, with data entry on caste, occupation, and educational qualifications still pending. Field workers report that residents are becoming increasingly reluctant to participate due to repeated visits and confusion over the purpose of the survey. Officials worry that this lack of momentum could lead to inconsistent data and incomplete representation of marginalized communities.
Subhead: Political Sensitivities and Growing Public Attention
The caste survey, which aims to gather comprehensive socio-economic data to inform welfare and reservation policies, has become politically sensitive. With opposition parties closely monitoring its progress, the government faces mounting pressure to demonstrate transparency and efficiency. Delays have already prompted criticism from several quarters, with some accusing the state of poor planning and lack of inter-departmental coordination. Political analysts note that the survey’s outcome could significantly influence upcoming elections, as it is expected to reshape caste-based welfare strategies and power equations within Karnataka’s political landscape.
Teachers Torn Between Duties and Expectations
Teachers involved in the earlier phase of the survey are caught in a difficult position. Many have expressed frustration at being repeatedly pulled from classroom duties for administrative work. With the academic calendar running behind schedule, headmasters are reluctant to release staff again, fearing disruption to ongoing exams and assessments. The Education Department, on its part, has requested the Social Welfare Department to explore alternative staffing options. However, without experienced enumerators, officials admit the quality and pace of data collection have declined sharply since the festival break.
Training and Resource Gaps Add to Woes
To fill the staffing void, district administrations have begun hiring temporary enumerators from local communities, but many lack the necessary training to handle digital data entry devices and structured interview techniques. Workshops have been organized to train these replacements, but the learning curve remains steep. In several districts, technical glitches with mobile survey applications have compounded the problem, leading to incomplete uploads. Officials are now exploring offline data entry methods as a backup, but they caution that manual processes could increase the risk of errors and further delay verification.
Subhead: Government’s Push to Meet Deadlines
The Social Welfare Department has announced plans to extend working hours for enumerators and deploy additional supervisors to accelerate progress. Senior officials have also scheduled review meetings across all districts to assess completion targets. Despite these measures, insiders acknowledge that the pace remains far below expectations. The state government hopes to finish data collection before the year-end, but experts predict that full verification and analysis may extend well into the next financial year. The uncertainty has created anxiety within departments waiting for caste-based data to design new welfare schemes.
Impact on Policy and Future Planning
The sluggish progress of the caste survey could have a cascading effect on social policy formulation. Several welfare departments, including backward classes and minority development boards, have postponed new project proposals pending the release of caste data. Economists and social researchers warn that any delay could weaken evidence-based policymaking, particularly in identifying resource allocation gaps. The accuracy of data will also determine how effectively the government can address disparities in education, employment, and economic empowerment among various caste groups.
Public Trust and Credibility at Stake
Amid growing skepticism, officials are trying to reassure citizens about the survey’s importance and confidentiality. Public outreach campaigns are being planned to explain how the data will be used solely for welfare purposes, not political manipulation. However, experts caution that prolonged delays and inconsistent field performance could erode public trust in the process. With every passing week, pressure mounts on the government to deliver credible results. For many, the sluggish progress of the caste survey is not just an administrative hurdle — it reflects the larger struggle to balance governance priorities with ground realities.
Call for Coordinated Effort and Accountability
Social scientists and civil society groups have urged the state to restore coordination between education and social welfare departments for a smoother survey process. They recommend the use of technology-driven scheduling, better training modules, and financial incentives for enumerators to maintain efficiency. The government is also being advised to hold district collectors accountable for progress metrics. As the survey drags on, citizens await not just the data, but also evidence that Karnataka can manage large-scale social documentation with precision, transparency, and empathy for its diverse communities.
The slow resumption of the caste survey has become a matter of concern for both bureaucrats and political observers. Officials in several districts have admitted that only about 30 to 40 percent of the data entry targets have been achieved since the survey restarted. In Bengaluru Urban and Rural, where population density is high, enumerators have been unable to keep up with their daily quotas due to technical bottlenecks and limited staff. District authorities are now preparing revised timetables to compensate for lost days and ensure that progress does not stall further.
Teachers’ unions have voiced their dissatisfaction with the repeated use of educators for non-academic administrative work. They argue that pulling teachers away from schools disrupts the learning process, particularly for students preparing for board exams. Many teachers who participated earlier claim they were not paid the promised allowances or travel reimbursements. The Karnataka State Teachers’ Association has written to the Education Department demanding that survey responsibilities be reassigned to trained government enumerators instead. Their appeal highlights the ongoing tension between educational priorities and administrative obligations.
In some taluks, local panchayat staff and anganwadi workers have been roped in temporarily to fill the manpower gap. However, these workers too are juggling multiple responsibilities and lack the time to complete detailed interviews with each household. Officials have observed that incomplete or hurriedly entered data could compromise the quality of information collected. With each household requiring multiple data points on caste, income, education, and housing, accuracy remains a key concern. Supervisors have been instructed to conduct random checks, but limited oversight means many errors may go unnoticed.
District-level coordination meetings held after Deepavali revealed that certain regions, such as Mandya, Tumakuru, and Raichur, are lagging behind the most. While some progress has been made in urban pockets, remote areas continue to face connectivity issues that delay digital uploads. Field enumerators often have to travel to district headquarters to sync their devices, consuming precious hours each day. Officials are considering the establishment of mobile data hubs or local upload centers to mitigate this delay, but the infrastructure will take time to deploy effectively.
The Social Welfare Department has been facing questions from the state’s finance and planning divisions regarding expenditure on the survey so far. With repeated extensions and additional training costs, the budget has reportedly exceeded initial estimates. Critics argue that poor planning has led to duplication of work and inefficient resource allocation. Government sources maintain that the survey is a long-term investment aimed at ensuring data-driven welfare, but opposition leaders are demanding a formal audit to assess how funds have been utilized since the survey’s initial launch.
Public perception of the caste survey has also evolved since its inception. While some communities view it as an opportunity for fair representation in welfare policies, others remain skeptical about how the results will be used politically. Several residents have complained about survey fatigue due to multiple visits by enumerators who request clarifications or re-verify data. The lack of clear communication from authorities has created confusion in villages, where misinformation about the purpose of the survey has spread. Social workers suggest that the government must ramp up awareness efforts to rebuild confidence.
Technical training sessions held for replacement enumerators have faced low attendance in certain districts. Many newly recruited workers have found the digital interface challenging, particularly when it comes to navigating multi-layered caste classifications. Supervisors are struggling to maintain consistency in data coding, leading to mismatched entries across districts. This inconsistency could complicate the data collation process at the state level. To address this, officials plan to introduce simplified data entry formats, but experts warn that frequent format changes may further slow down progress.
At the policy level, the slow pace of the survey has implications for the state’s upcoming socio-economic planning cycle. Several new welfare schemes, including housing subsidies and education scholarships, depend on accurate caste and income data for targeted distribution. With the 2025–26 budget preparation already underway, policymakers are worried that incomplete survey results may force departments to rely on outdated demographic information. Economists caution that this could widen inequalities and reduce the effectiveness of government spending in reaching marginalized groups.
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