Uttarakhand teachers seek relief from census, BLO duties (AI image used for representational purpose only)

Dehradun: Government school teachers in Uttarakhand have written to senior education officials seeking alternative arrangements while being deployed for census and booth-level officer (BLO) duties under the SIR exercise, warning that disengagement of teaching staff is severely disrupting classroom instruction, especially in schools operating with minimum staff.Teachers said their involvement in these additional duties, likely to continue for at least a year, could lead to prolonged gaps in teaching at a time when recovery of learning remains a priority. He has urged the department to make interim arrangements to ensure that students are not left without supervision or instruction during his absence. This concern is most acute in single-teacher schools, where any absence makes it impossible to fully care for students.In a letter, AK Gosain, a teacher from Sahaspur on the outskirts of Dehradun, wrote, “Since the undersigned is involved in teacher training and census work, a situation may arise where the school would need to remain closed for so many days.” In another school in Banjarwarla village in Dehradun district, which has around 200 students, there are six teachers, five have been assigned census and BLO duties. On April 11, the school principal wrote to senior officials seeking relief, saying, “For the sake of education of the students and smooth functioning of the school, I request you to please relieve at least two teachers from these duties.” Across the state, there were at least 3,000 single-teacher schools as of last year. The teachers said they are already engaged in several education department programmes, including census and BLO duties as well as the Pravesh Mahotsav and the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Comprehension and Numeracy (NIPUN). “Our promotions are on hold from 2025 following the orders of the apex court and transfers are also on hold due to the orders of the High Court. We are only demanding relief from BLO duty as it is not part of the right to education,” said Digambar Singh Negi, Chamoli district president of Uttaranchal State Primary Teachers Association. Dharmendra Rawat, Dehradun district president of the union, said that although teachers continue to perform the assigned duties, its impact on students is significant. “In single-teacher schools or schools with limited staff, students are being seriously impacted, which can have an impact on their future outcomes,” he said. When asked, Director of Education Deepti Singh said, “If such concerns are raised, the department informs the district election officers. However, it does not come under our purview to allot or transfer BLO duties.”