Teachers' deployment for BLO duties hits classes in govt schools

Time of India

24-07-2025

Patna: Educational activities in most of the govt schools in Patna have been hit due to engagement of teachers in Booth Level Officer (BLO) duties for ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The situation has led to overcrowded classrooms, combined classes, senior students teaching their junior counterparts and a marginal decrease in students' attendance.
With election preparations intensifying, many teachers have been assigned BLO responsibilities, which include tasks like voter list revision, door-to-door verification, and other administrative work. While these duties are important for the democratic process, their prolonged nature often takes teachers away from their primary role in the classroom.
In schools with more teachers, there are options of substitute arrangements during leisure periods. However, the impact is particularly acute in schools with limited teaching staff, where the absence of even a few teachers creates a void. "The situation is quite challenging," said Rajesh Kumar, headmaster of a middle school in Dariyapur Gola.
"Altogether we have eight teachers in the school. Since three of them have been deputed for BLO duties, it directly impacts the daily functioning of the school," he said.
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"We have to combine classes, sometimes even three grades into one classroom. Usually we combine the junior classes depending on the attendance, and Class VI and VIII are conducted separately. This makes it difficult for teachers to give individual attention or cover the syllabus effectively."
Ajit Kumar Prabhakar, headmaster at Middle School Nargada in Danapur block, said, "Altogether we have 17 teachers, including me.
Two of them are deputed for BLO duties, while the other two teachers are assisting them."
"As a result, the remaining teachers are overburdened, managing double the workload. Besides, a few 'student teachers' (senior class students) also help. This is how we are managing the classes but it is not fair for the children who are missing out on quality education. We try our best to ensure no class is left unattended, but genuine teaching and learning suffer," he added.
Prabhakar, who has also been deputed as a BLO supervisor, finds it difficult to monitor the school effectively amid his additional responsibilities.
In another school with approximately 400 students, nine out of 16 teachers have been assigned to Booth Level Officer (BLO) duties, leaving the remaining staff to manage the academic responsibilities.
The effect of these teacher deployments was evident last month when Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTMs) in several schools were affected, with the absence of teachers due to BLO duties cited as a primary reason.
The additional chief secretary of the education department, S Siddharth, emphasised that the process is an important part of the election, and therefore cannot be interfered with. "However, the district education officers (DEOs) and block education officers (BEOs) have been directed to make such arrangements to ensure that even after the teachers are engaged in voter verification, the studies of children in any school are not disrupted," he said.