According to the letter, some District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have issued orders to permanently acquire the services of teachers while appointing them as BLOs. (Express Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)With the door-to-door distribution of enumeration forms for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) set to begin on June 30 in Maharashtra, the State Election Commission has clarified that teachers will be assigned Booth Level Officer (BLO) duties during non-school hours and on holidays. A June 27 letter issued by Manohar Parkar, Deputy Secretary and Joint Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, asked District Level Officials to not assign full-time BLO work to teachers.The letter states that as per instructions of the Election Commission of India, state government or local body employees belonging to Group C or above can be appointed as BLOs. In case of non-availability of such employees, anganwadi, contractual teachers, or central government employees can be assigned as BLOs.Accordingly, a large number of teachers, falling under state government or local bodies, have been appointed as BLOs, says the letter. It cites the Right to Education Act 2009 and judgements from the Allahabad and Rajasthan High Courts to claim appointment of teachers as BLOs is legal. Further, the letter cites a Supreme Court judgement wherein the Election Commission had stated that teachers would be appointed for electoral roll revision works during off-duty hours and holidays as far as possible.Also Read | Special Intensive Revision (SIR): Why is it important? Why ECI is doing it now and what you need to do“It has been observed that some District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have issued orders to permanently acquire the services of teachers while appointing them as BLOs and have directed the concerned establishments to release the said teachers for full-time work,” the letter says, adding that teachers should not be appointed full-time BLO duties.Associations reactTanaji Mane, President of the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary School Headmaster’s Association, said, “Schools have just begun. There is a shortage of teachers in schools, no new recruitment is taking place. Thus releasing teachers for full-time BLO duty effectively amounts to shutting down Marathi-medium schools.”Reacting to the letter by the election office, Mane said, “Teachers work for eight-nine hours like other government employees. Now they are supposed to work after school? On holidays also? The question is how many employees from other fields have been selected as BLOs and how many teachers. I will ask our association to file RTI requests to get this information and after that we will file a petition in the High Court.”Similarly Vijay Kombe, State President of Maharashtra State Primary Teacher’s Committee, said, “Teachers are being given work in non-school hours which is of course correct. But the work is so vast that they need to work in the mornings and nights. Is there no personal life for teachers? We get one Sunday as a holiday in a week and even on that holiday we have to work?Story continues below this ad“Every teacher is assigned 1400-1500 voters. Instructions are such that form distribution and filling should be done in seven days. In rural areas the voters won’t be able to fill the forms as they are technical, the BLO has to do everything. At some district trainings, teachers are being verbally told to adjust work in contravention of the election office’s orders. At a school in Wardha district, seven out of nine employees are on SIR duty. One teacher and headmaster are the only ones in school. How is the school supposed to function?” Kombe added.Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting. Professional Background Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune. Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics. Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories: 1. Investigations & Governance "Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents. "44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families. 2. Education & Campus Life Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. "Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial. "Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers. 3. Human Rights & Social Issues "Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India. "'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying. Signature Style Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty. X (Twitter): @SohamShah07 ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories