A government school teacher from West Delhi, on condition of anonymity said, “Due to SIR duties only 20% permanent staff has been available. Rest are guest teachers. There has been no subject expert for chemistry, physics, biology, maths.”A day after a teacher of an MCD school in Kapashera died of a heart attack — with her family claiming that she had been under “extreme stress” while juggling teaching responsibilities with Booth Level Officer (BLO) duties — the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s office on Thursday directed election officials to ensure that teachers deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are not required to disengage from their schools full-time.The teacher has been identified as Suman Lata (51).The direction came amid growing concerns over workload and working conditions of government school teachers assigned on the electoral exercise duty. The CEO’s office, referring to concerns raised by the Directorate of Education and other representations, said teachers should be permitted to undertake “SIR/BLO-related work after school hours or in a manner that allowed them to continue with their primary academic responsibilities”.The order, issued to all 13 District Election Officers and circulated among all 70 Electoral Registration Officers, also cited the Election Commission’s instructions stating that BLO activities should be carried out during holidays, non-teaching hours, after school hours and on non-teaching days so as to avoid loss of academic work.Lata’s death on Wednesday came against the backdrop of concerns raised by teachers over SIR-related work burden and followed an incident of suicide attempt on July 8 by another teacher who was supervising BLOs conducting the SIR of electoral rolls.While Lata’s husband Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said she had been receiving work-related calls very late into early morning hours, their relative Karan Yadav told The Indian Express that it was not Lata alone who was under stress. “Everybody has been under extreme stress. They come home and do household chores, take care of their children, while also battling pressure of academic work. Nobody is able to recover,” he said.He questioned the extent to which teachers, particularly older or middle-aged ones posted at government schools, could be expected to handle digital work alongside their regular duties. “IT graduates or diploma holders should be assigned digital tasks, such as uploading forms. Many times, sites and servers shut down or computers do not work smoothly. Authorities often issue show-cause notices if they are unable to meet targets,” said Yadav.A PIL moved in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, meanwhile, has challenged the large-scale deployment of government and municipal school teachers for BLO and SIR duties, stating that the education at such schools is being affected while there is no disruption at private schools.Story continues below this adThe petition alleged that work has not been confined to holidays or non-teaching hours, with teachers being required to attend full-day training sessions, conduct house-to-house enumeration during school hours and do data-entry and verification work over extended periods.It also cited the example of a school where only 15 guest teachers were left to conduct classes across 22 sections, and another where 22 teachers had been deployed for BLO work. The plea also flagged that negligence, unauthorised absence, refusal to perform election duty or delay also face disciplinary action and prosecution.Ajay Veer Yadav, head of the Government School Teachers’ Association (GSTA), told The Indian Express, “Nothing has changed on the ground. How can female teachers feel safe when they are asked to go alone for door-to-door surveys? There is time-bound pressure and everything is digitised. We know what happened with OSM. Nothing that has been digitised has worked well so far,” he said.A government school teacher from West Delhi, on condition of anonymity said, “Due to SIR duties only 20% permanent staff has been available. Rest are guest teachers. There has been no subject expert for chemistry, physics, biology, maths.”Story continues below this adThe PIL is scheduled to come up for hearing on Friday.(with inputs from PTI)Sophiya Mathew is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She joined the Delhi bureau in 2024, and has specialization in Integrated Multimedia Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. Professional Background Core Beats: Her reporting is primarily focused on the Environment and Education. Specialization: She has gained recognition for her ground-level reporting on the Yamuna floodplains and the socio-economic challenges faced by those living on its banks. She also focuses on the disparities in Delhi's education system, ranging from elite private schools to government institutions and refugee education. Recent Notable Articles (December 2025) Her recent work has been heavily centered on Delhi's severe winter pollution crisis and the government's regulatory responses: 1. The Air Pollution Crisis "A tale of two cities: Delhi govt schools choke in bad air, private classrooms set up air filters" (Dec 20, 2025): A high-impact feature contrasting the "Clean Air Bubbles" in elite schools with the reality of government school students who are exposed to an equivalent of 17 cigarettes a day due to outdoor exposure. "Delhi sees season's worst air day, second worst December AQI in nearly a decade" (Dec 15, 2025): An analytical report on the meteorological patterns trapping pollutants in the NCR. "Delhi bans non-BS VI vehicles from outside: Why curbing vehicular pollution is key" (Dec 17, 2025): Explaining the science behind targeting specific vehicle vintages to lower particulate matter. 2. Enforcement & Regulations "No fuel at pumps in Delhi without valid PUC certificate from December 18" (Dec 17, 2025): Breaking the news on the environment ministry's strict "No PUC, No Fuel" policy. 3. Education Policy "Law to regulate school fee in Delhi risks becoming procedural, say parents" (Dec 13, 2025): Investigating the loopholes in the new Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. "Monsoon Session: Private school fee regulation Bill cleared after four-hour debate" (Aug 9, 2025): Covering the legislative passage of the controversial fee hike regulation. Signature Style Sophiya is known for her observational depth. Her reporting often includes vivid details from school corridors, hospital waitlists, or the banks of the Yamuna to illustrate how policy failures affect the city's most vulnerable residents. She is a frequent expert guest on the 3 Things podcast, where she explains the complexities of Delhi’s environmental laws. X (Twitter): @SophiyaMathew1 ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:New Delhi