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The intensive voter list revision programme is under way across Gujarat, with 50,963 government employees assigned as Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
A large proportion are schoolteachers from government and municipal schools, prompting renewed protests over what educators describe as repeated and disproportionate work allocation.
Teachers’ associations say many educators have already served as BLOs for more than three years in previous cycles.
They argue that fresh orders assigning them the same duty violate Election Commission guidelines, which call for rotational deployment across 13 government cadres.
Concerns have also been raised that pregnant teachers, staff above the age of 50, and differently abled employees have been assigned BLO responsibilities, despite requests for exemptions.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Teachers’ Association has submitted a representation to the Chief Electoral Officer.
The association states that municipal teachers are being given a disproportionate share of BLO work, while other government departments could share the responsibility.
A circular issued by the Chief Electoral Officer in August 2023 specified that employees from 12 other cadres, along with local administrative staff, should also be deployed as BLOs.
It further states that teachers should be assigned this work only in limited circumstances and those who have already served for more than three years should be relieved.
Despite this, complaints from multiple districts indicate that educators with long BLO service histories have been reassigned.
In Sanand taluka of Ahmedabad district, for instance, a teacher who previously served as a BLO for eight to nine years has again been allotted the role. Similar reports note the inclusion of employees aged over 50 and pregnant women.
Teachers also point to the Right to Education (RTE) Act provision that restricts teachers from being diverted to non-teaching duties, stating that repeated BLO assignments directly violate this mandate.
The protests come at a time when recent national education assessment surveys have highlighted significant learning gaps in Gujarat, and the state’s ranking has declined.
Teachers argue that continued administrative loads reduce classroom teaching time and negatively affect student outcomes.
In response, the Ahmedabad district Collector has issued a circular to DEO (city), DEO (rural), DPEO, and education board officials.
The directive states that BLO duties are time-bound and linked to the Election Commission, and therefore employees assigned to these roles should be relieved from additional administrative or secondary responsibilities to prevent overburdening. Internal adjustments are to be made within schools to manage the workload.
However, in Palanpur, assistant teachers have also been asked to support BLO tasks, which further extends administrative responsibilities within schools.
Teacher associations continue to demand that BLO work be redistributed according to the existing rotational policy and that educators who have completed their mandated term be exempted immediately.