SIR: BLO duties extended till final rolls, teachers say students affected, cannot continue

SIR: BLO duties extended till final rolls, teachers say students affected, cannot continue This comes as an order issued on Wednesday directing all BLOs and BLO Supervisors to continue with SIR until the final electoral rolls are published on October 27.

Key points

• According to Chandrashekhar Nugli, president of the Administration Primary School Teachers Association, around 70, 000 administration teachers throughout the State were deployed for SIR, severely affecting school functioning.
• There are 103 students from classes 1 to 8 in our school, and of the three teachers, two were assigned for SIR.
• Similar orders were received by BLOs throughout the State via DEOs and ADEOs.
• Another administration school teacher from Hebbal stated he had lately met with an accident and had requested office-holders to relieve him from SIR duty.
• It additionally warns that obstruction or dereliction of SIR-related duties could invite disciplinary action.

Teachers argued that the continued deployment would only further disturb school functioning. It had already been severely affected during the enumeration phase. Photo Credit: File photo.

While thousands of others had only one teacher, administration school teachers have requested the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer and District Election Officers (DEOs) not to involve them in the remaining phases of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), pointing out that thousands of schools throughout Karnataka were running without a single teacher.

This comes as an order issued by an Extra District Election Officer (ADEO) on Wednesday (August 19) directing all Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and BLO Supervisors deployed for SIR to continue with the exercise until the final electoral rolls are published on October 27. Similar orders were received by BLOs throughout the State via DEOs and ADEOs.

In Bengaluru, teachers remarked that for almost two months, single teachers had been managing multiple classes, with some schools forced to club students throughout grades and, in some cases, rely on academically robust students to handle junior classes.

"There are 103 students from classes 1 to 8 in our school, and of the three teachers, two were assigned for SIR. Ultimately, we had to club students from classes 1 to 5 and teach them together. In some cases, we had to ask students who are good in studies to take over other junior classes, " a teacher remarked.

For context, the order, dated August 19, states that BLOs and BLO Supervisors will have to continue with door-to-door verification, uploading enumeration applications and addressing cases relating to "logical discrepancies". It additionally warns that obstruction or dereliction of SIR-related duties could invite disciplinary action.

Another administration school teacher from Hebbal stated he had lately met with an accident and had requested office-holders to relieve him from SIR duty. Instead, he was cautioned of disciplinary action and asked to continue working as a BLO. "It is not just the school routine that is affected. Our health has additionally taken a toll as of the immense pressure, " he noted.

"If we complete the exercise, we will be afterwards put under pressure to complete the syllabus, take extra classes and ensure good results. But even now, neither are we being relieved nor can we do both things side by side. For the last one month, students are coming to school, having their midday meals and simply going back, " he continued.

According to Chandrashekhar Nugli, president of the Administration Primary School Teachers Association, around 70, 000 administration teachers throughout the State were deployed for SIR, severely affecting school functioning. "Teachers have now documented back to schools as the enumeration phase obtained over on August 17. They should not be included again in any kind of SIR duty. This will severely affect the education of thousands of children, " he remarked.

Pointing out that they were caught between voters unfamiliar with the SIR process and deadlines imposed on them, BLOs demanded that they either be relieved of their duties or that the deadline be extended so they can receive proper training for the next phase. "First, we were not trained for the enumeration phase, and now, without any training, we are expected to look into cases involving 'no mapping' and 'logical discrepancy', " a BLO argued.

For now, SIR: BLO duties extended till final rolls, teachers say students affected, cannot remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.