MUMBAI: “The job of teachers is to teach in the classroom,” state education minister Dada Bhuse has reminded chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. In a strident letter urging Fadnavis to exempt teachers from Booth Level Officer (BLO) and other election-related duties, in view of the upcoming municipal elections, Bhuse said, “Election duties consume the teachers’ time and cause educational loss to students.”
The minister pointed out that competent staff is available in other government departments for election-related work. “They should be used as an alternative. Therefore, it is my insistent position that teachers should be completely freed from BLO duties and allowed to teach with dignity.”
To bolster his argument, Bhuse cited the Right to Education Act, 2009, stating that it defines teaching as the primary responsibility of school teachers. Prolonged absence from classrooms due to election duties goes against the spirit of the law, he underlined. Students, particularly in government schools, suffer most when teachers are repeatedly diverted to non-academic assignments, he wrote. “For me, the future of the students in the state and the quality of education are the highest priority.”
Bhuse argued that assigning election-related responsibilities to teachers, a practice followed during every election, disrupts classes. Leaving classrooms understaffed for long stretches, forces teachers to race to complete the syllabus.
The minister said his demand is based on repeated concerns raised by teachers and education stakeholders about the growing burden of non-teaching duties. In his letter, he pointed out, manpower from other government departments could be deployed instead of teachers. These include anganwadi workers, talathis, gram sevaks, agricultural department staff, postal employees, health workers, ASHA workers and municipal employees.
Such personnel are available in large numbers across the state and are well-equipped to handle election-related responsibilities, he said. “Since sufficient manpower exists in other departments, the use of teachers for BLO duties should be avoided,” he wrote.