Schools suffer as teachers remain busy with electoral duties

Several BMC and aided schools in Mumbai are facing a shortage of teachers due to 500 of them being assigned booth level officer duties by the Election Commission. As a result, extracurricular activities have been suspended, leading to discontent among teachers and parents. Teachers are expected to fulfill BLO responsibilities before and after regular school hours, including weekends and holidays, resulting in disruptions to school operations. Teachers and principals have been assigned BLO duties from the first day of school, leading to an outcry from teachers and students. Both teachers? unions and individual teachers are demanding that the government take action to provide relief for teachers and students.

Mumbai: Several Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and aided schools are facing a shortage of teachers due to the Election Commission’s assignment of booth level officer (BLO) duties to approximately 500 teachers across the city.

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Consequently, these teachers have been instructed to suspend various extracurricular educational activities such as additional lectures for students in classes 9 and 10, scholarship classes, and other school programmes in order to assist the Election Commission in preparation of voter lists. This situation has resulted in significant discontent among teachers and parents.

From the first day of school, several teachers and principals were assigned BLO duties. These teachers are now expected to fulfil BLO responsibilities before and after regular school hours, including weekends and holidays.

Over the past five years, the school education department has consistently deployed nearly 500 teachers to support the EC’s work. As a result, the school administration has suffered a breakdown, leading to disruptions of school operations.

Shivnath Darade, an executive member of Shikshak Parishad, said, “More than 70% of Mumbai’s teachers reside in suburbs, which results in lengthy commutes of up to two and a half hours. The working conditions for BLO duties vary significantly at the village level, making it impractical to balance travel time with actual school duties.”

Anil Bornare, vice-president of BJP Shikshak Aaghadi, added, “Considering these circumstances, it is advisable for the Election Commission to refrain from involving teachers in such tasks. Instead, the provision of teachers for election-related work over the past five years should prompt the appointment of employees from other offices for future elections, allowing teachers to focus on their primary responsibilities. The condition of aided schools in Mumbai is critical, with a dwindling student population.”

Furthermore, a teacher from an Andheri-based school, Uday Nare, wrote a letter to chief minister Eknath Shinde. Expressing concerns in the letter, he said, “For many schools in Mumbai, pre-election revision work has been scheduled from June 1 to October 16, all during school days. While teachers are willing to contribute to election-related work, such a prolonged absence from school would result in educational losses and impact the teachers’ working style. After the election announcement, teachers are prepared to undergo training on the day of the actual election itself. Teachers, students and parents all hope that the government can find a balanced solution.”

Both teachers’ unions and individual teachers are demanding that the government take action to provide relief for teachers and students in this matter.