‘They have studied nothing’: Teachers away from classrooms for SIR; mid-term, SSLC preparatory exams near

Across government schools, teachers said the shortage has become worse as they are pulled out of classrooms for the last four months for SIR-related work. Of the more than 59,000 BLOs appointed for SIR, government school teachers form the largest group.

Updated - September 28, 2026 06:57 pm IST - Bengaluru

The problem, BLOs say, is particularly acute in Tamil- and Urdu-medium schools, as finding another teacher on deputation is also not easy in such language-specific schools. | Photo Credit: File photo

“Mid-term examinations for government high schools are in November. But the syllabus is still mostly incomplete. It has been more than four months that schools have been running with just one-fourth of their teaching strength, with some schools having only a single teacher. Many students have dropped out in between, while absenteeism is going up,” said a high school teacher, appointed as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Across government schools, teachers said the shortage has become worse as they are pulled out of classrooms for the last four months for SIR-related work. Of the more than 59,000 BLOs appointed for SIR, government school teachers form the largest group.

Before the SIR began, BLOs said they were involved in pre-mapping work. From June, when the revision began, they were asked to distribute enumeration forms, followed by distribution of notices. At the same time, they have been assisting Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) with the hearing process.

With the recent changes, the work has now moved further into the field, with BLOs being asked to go house-to-house and collect documents from people who have received notices over logical discrepancies and unmapping. So far, hearings were being dealt with by AEROs. Now, with no physical hearings being held, BLOs have to take the process to people’s homes. As of September 25, more than 12.82 lakh hearings were pending, with the process to be completed by October 12, according to the CEO’s office. In Bengaluru alone, more than 7.85 lakh hearings remain pending.

Urdu and Tamil-medium schools

The problem, BLOs say, is particularly acute in Tamil- and Urdu-medium schools, as finding another teacher on deputation is also not easy in such language-specific schools, as a teacher who can teach in the respective medium of instruction has to be found.

At an Urdu-medium high school in Kengeri, eight teachers are there, but only two are currently not assigned to SIR work, a BLO from the school said. “Even the headmaster has been assigned BLO duties. From classes 8 to 10, there are about 120 students, and only two teachers for all of them. By October, we are supposed to finish the portions, and after December, we start preparing them for the preparatory exams in January. But what are we going to do for these SSLC students now? The exam is not something we can conduct or change at the school level. Their entire year is getting wasted. They have studied nothing,” the BLO said.

Another teacher from a Tamil-medium school in J.C. Nagar said that while the school has three primary teachers who are not assigned for the BLO work, they cannot teach the high school students. “Children are spending the whole day in the playground. Primary teachers can’t teach high school students because syllabi are different and they have their own classes to handle. There is only one teacher for classes 8 to 10. Government school students are always the worst hit. The same SSLC students in private schools are being taught, but our children are sitting without classes,” the teacher argued.

Teachers lamented that before SIR, they were involved in the National Census and before that, the caste survey taken up by the State government. “For the last nine months, from Dasara vacations to summer holidays, all leaves are spent on doing BLO work. There’s no break. But at least the last two times, students were not affected because it was vacation time,” a teacher said.

The issue was raised in multiple meetings, with teachers asking that those teaching Science and Mathematics to SSLC students be kept out of BLO duties, as these students need more practice and revision in subjects that many find difficult. “But officials in the Education Department only maintain that SIR is the Election Commission’s work and that the department has no role to play,” teachers said.

Published - September 28, 2026 06:53 pm IST

Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.