State Education Board Urges Election Commission to Exempt Teachers from BLO Duties Ahead of Polls

The state board has urged the election authorities to exempt municipal teachers assisting in the Class 10 and 12 examinations in Mumbai from work on updating the voters’ list ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

While municipal teachers are typically appointed as booth-level officers (BLOs) to discharge various electoral duties, this time, they point out, Class 10 and 12 exams are underway, clashing with duties relating to the pre-SIR process.

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Mumbai division, representing the teachers, has brought up the matter.

On 26th February, the Mumbai divisional secretary Jyotna Shinde, Pawar addressed a letter to the state chief electoral officer (CEO), requesting waiver of BLO duties for teachers engaged in the conduct of Class 10 and Class 12 examinations.

Teachers from the municipality are being tasked with going to people's homes to collect information that will be used in the updating of the electoral rolls, such as details of the voters, new photos to substitute the old ones, and verification of basic information, among other things. In January, several training sessions were conducted by electoral registration officers in various assembly constituencies in Mumbai. However, many teachers could not attend these training sessions as examinations are underway.

As a result, the electoral registration officer from the Bandra assembly constituency sought to register a first information report (FIR) against 60-odd teachers. No police action has been taken so far but teachers’ organisations have objected to this move.

Shivnath Darade, executive member of the Shikshak Parishad, has written to the state chief electoral officer, saying, “There isn’t sufficient staff in schools. If teachers go for training and BLO work, how will school work continue? It is affecting academics. The CEO must give concession to teachers during the examination session.”

Teachers say that apart from board exams, many are also involved in conducting annual exams for Classes 1 to 9. “We are preparing students for exams and conducting papers. We request the Election Commission to give us time till the examinations are over,” the teacher said.

Rushikant Ghosalkar of the Municipal Samarth Kamgar Sanghatana has also written to the CEO. “In Malabar Hill assembly constituency, the local officer has exempted teachers involved in examination work from BLO duties and training sessions,” he wrote, urging similar relief across constituencies.

Prashant Dhage, electoral registration officer from Bandra constituency, said, “We need to update the voters’ list before actual SIR work begins. So we are conducting training as this work is also important and needs to be completed.”