Mumbai Teachers Face FIRs Over BLO Election Duties, Protest Planned for July 9
On July 7, Mahesh Palkar, Maharashtra's Director of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, issued a directive ordering school principals in Mumbai to reduce the workload of teachers appointed as Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) so they can prioritize voter verification. The mandate has sparked widespread anger among educators, leading to a planned statewide school closure and protest on July 9, as well as an upcoming legal challenge in the Bombay High Court.
The tension escalated after authorities initiated strict disciplinary actions against teachers who refused to perform the election duties. Police have registered First Information Reports (FIRs) against 30 teachers, while another 35 teachers have received show-cause notices. Teachers reported feeling forced to choose between classroom teaching and avoiding legal consequences.
The dispute centers on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, launched by the Election Commission to update electoral rolls. Since June 30, teachers serving as BLOs have been conducting door-to-door verification, which requires visiting 1,200 to 1,300 households per officer to collect and update voter records.
Subhash More, the working president of Shikshak Bharti, explained that adjusting teaching schedules is virtually impossible because many schools are already short-staffed due to the state's 2024 staffing policy.
Jalinder Sarode, working president of Shikshak Sena, Maharashtra, pointed out that approximately 80 percent of the state's teachers are women who must balance household responsibilities, school classes, and hours of door-to-door visits. He urged the government to employ retired teachers, unemployed graduates, or National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers instead.
Parent activist Prasad Tulaskar, who fought for the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in Maharashtra, also warned that students' education would suffer if teachers remained out of classrooms for a month.
An unnamed Mumbai school management is preparing to challenge the BLO appointments in the Bombay High Court. Although high courts in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and West Bengal have previously ruled that preparing electoral rolls is part of a teacher's mandated duty under the RTE, the Mumbai management plans to argue its case using additional legal points.
Vijay Kombe, a member of the Maharashtra State Primary Teachers Committee (MSPTC), stated that teachers are continuously burdened with non-academic work. He warned that if the government does not respond, teachers will take collective leave, keeping schools closed on July 9.
