Election duty for Maharashtra teachers triggers severe classroom shortages
Government and aided school teachers in Mahim, Mumbai, and across Maharashtra have been pulled from their classrooms to work full-time on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, leading to severe staff shortages and disrupted lessons.
The disruption began after teachers started SIR training on June 20. Following the training, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) directed school principals to relieve the selected teachers from their regular classroom duties until the voter roll revision is completed.
The policy has left several schools struggling to manage. At one Mumbai municipal school, a single teacher was left to handle 178 students from Classes I to VIII after four colleagues were assigned to census and election duties. Previously, teachers working as Booth Level Officers would attend classes before completing election work, but the new full-time mandate has made classroom management impossible.
In Nashik, a teacher who is the sole staff member at their school was also deployed for full-time SIR duty, leaving no one behind to teach the students.
Parents have raised concerns over the impact on their children's education. Sagar Sarode, whose two children study at a BMC school in Mahim, said two teachers from the school had been assigned to the revision work and called on authorities to ensure schools have enough staff.
Teacher MLC J.M. Abhyankar has urged district collectors to reconsider the order, stating that prolonged deployment of teachers for election work violates the spirit of the Right to Education Act. He argued that the government should allow teachers to carry out election duties without completely abandoning classroom teaching.
In response to the mandate, teachers have formed the BLO Duty Grievance Redressal Forum in Mumbai. The forum, which currently has 644 members, has filed a petition in the high court challenging the deployment of teachers for Booth Level Officer duties alongside school management associations and teachers' unions.
Tanaji Kamble, president of the Maharashtra Progressive Teachers Association, stated that between 50% and 90% of teachers in several schools have been assigned to election work. While the association does not object to the election process, Kamble urged the state government to review the decision so that children's education is not compromised.
