Teachers' SIR Duty Extension to August 17 Disrupts Schools Across Mumbai
The extension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across Maharashtra has required government and private aided school teachers to remain on election-related duty until August 17. Teachers who were expected to return to classrooms on August 8 must now continue their election tasks, causing significant academic disruption in Mumbai and localities such as Ghatkopar East.
Teachers have been serving as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) since mid-June. Over the past month, many schools have been forced to operate for only half a day due to staff shortages. With the SIR deadline extended by an additional 10 days, school administrators anticipate that half-day schedules may persist for another 15 to 20 days, severely impacting unit tests and regular instruction.
The prolonged deployment threatens the schedule for mandatory periodic assessment tests. Educationists cautioned that tests normally held in August may now be postponed until the end of September or October. In several institutions, more than 70 percent of the teaching staff has been assigned to election duties, leaving remaining staff struggling to manage basic operations and examinations.
Pressure on school staff has escalated, with police stations issuing notices to teachers who failed to report for SIR work. The situation has drawn strong objections from headmasters, school managements, and teacher unions. Some administrators have filed court petitions over the deployments, though no hearings have taken place to date.
Tanaji Kamble, president of the Progressive Teachers Association, shared data from the Ghatkopar East Assembly constituency to demonstrate the scale of the issue. In Ghatkopar East, 184 of the 283 personnel appointed for BLO duty—about 65 percent—came from the Education Department, including 157 teachers. Kamble disputed government statements that only 40 percent of teachers are assigned to SIR work, stating that local figures show a much higher impact.
Jalinder Sarode, working president of Shikshak Sena (Maharashtra), emphasized that teacher absences are actively interfering with ongoing examinations. Sarode argued that the state should deploy trained staff from other government departments or outsource election work to prevent further learning loss among students.
