Bengaluru: Large-scale deployment of teachers from government and aided high schools in Bengaluru for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duties has raised concerns over the disruption of classroom teaching, particularly for SSLC students preparing for board examinations.
Teachers assigned to SIR work said they have been relieved from school duties for nearly a month, leaving students without regular classes and affecting the academic schedule.
Teachers say classes and assessments are suffering
According to several teachers, the extensive election-related work begins at around 8 am and continues until 6 pm daily, leaving no scope for conducting extra classes to compensate for lost teaching hours.
A teacher from one of Bengaluru’s long-established government high schools said six permanent teachers in the school had been assigned to SIR duties, creating a backlog in lessons and delaying monthly assessments.
Another teacher questioned the practice of deploying high school teachers for such assignments, suggesting that staff from other government departments could have been utilised instead. He argued that classroom teaching cannot easily be substituted, unlike clerical work.
Schools struggle to manage students
A headmistress of a government high school said some schools had seven to eight teachers out of a staff of ten assigned to SIR duties, making it extremely difficult to manage classes for 300 to 400 students while also overseeing mid-day meal programmes.
Teachers warned that the prolonged absence could force them to rush through the syllabus later, affecting students’ understanding of key concepts and potentially impacting SSLC examination results.
One science and mathematics teacher said he had been serving as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) for over four years and had repeatedly sought relief from the assignment, including through an RTI application, but had received no response.
Officials acknowledge concerns
A senior official from the School Education and Literacy Department acknowledged that deploying teachers for non-academic work has affected learning, particularly in schools with high student enrolment.
The official cautioned that repeated diversion of teachers to administrative duties could prompt more parents to shift their children from government schools to private institutions due to concerns over the quality and continuity of education.