Maharashtra education minister urges CM to exempt teachers from election duties

Maharashtra’s education minister has called on the state government to relieve school teachers from election-related duties, warning that assigning non-academic work is hurting classroom learning and student outcomes.

In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse urged that teachers be exempted from Booth Level Officer duties and other election-linked responsibilities.

He cited provisions of the Right to Education Act 2009, which define teaching as the primary responsibility of school educators.

Bhuse said teachers across the state are increasingly being deployed for BLO and other non-academic assignments, diverting them from classrooms and disrupting the academic calendar.

He argued that this practice has a direct impact on students’ progress and the overall quality of schooling.

“According to the Right to Education Act 2009 (RTE), the main duty of teachers is 'teaching.' However, in recent times, teachers are being engaged in BLO and other non-academic work on a large scale. Due to this, students miss regular classes and face difficulties in completing the curriculum,” Bhuse wrote.

Questioning the rationale behind such deployments, the minister asked how teachers could focus on improving learning outcomes if they were repeatedly pulled into election-related work instead of teaching.

Bhuse suggested that election duties be assigned to staff from other departments, including Anganwadi workers, talathis, gram sevaks, krishi sevaks, postmen, health workers, ASHA workers, and municipal employees, noting that adequate manpower was available within the state administration.

“Since this manpower is available in large quantities in the state, teachers should be prevented from being used there,” he said.

Emphasizing student welfare, Bhuse reiterated that classroom teaching must remain the core responsibility of educators.

“Election tasks waste teachers' time, and students suffer academic losses. Also, capable personnel are available in other departments for election-related tasks. They should be used as an alternative,” he urged the chief minister.