An Election Commission (EC) circular dated Wednesday, 13 March, announced that Class 10 and 12 teachers across Maharashtra are relieved from poll duties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Earlier, these teachers were assigned duties such as collecting information and updating electoral rolls. Many of them were also assigned poll-day duties.
As per a Hindustan Times report, the development came after Shikshak Bharati – an organisation of primary and secondary teachers in the state – took the matter to the EC demanding relief for teachers from poll duties due to overlapping examination duties that are going on in Maharashtra.
Lok Sabha elections for the 48 seats in Maharashtra will take place in two phases and will be held on 11 and 29 April, respectively.
Speaking to the daily, Subhash More, Shikshak Bharati’s state level executive president said, “Class 10 and Class 12 exams are currently going on and after that school exams will be held. Our teachers are currently busy with completing the school syllabus and after the exams they again have to do paper checking. Class 10 and Class 12 paper checking cannot be done outside, so teachers need to come to school premises during the vacation period."
Bharati added that they informed the EC about teachers’ willingness to work on polling day but not other roles.
There are roughly 50,000 teachers in the state, Hindustan Times report added.
Teachers in Maharashtra Booked for Refusing Election Work
The circular comes a day after 26 teachers from Palghar district in Maharashtra were booked for allegedly refusing to do election-related duty.
Palghar police spokesperson Hemant Kumar Katkar on 13 March had told PTI that the teachers were booked under Section 32(1) (breach of official duty in connection with preparation of electoral rolls) of the Representation of People Act after they did not turn up for election-related work.
The teachers were supposed to carry out the works between June 2018 and February this year, Katkar had said.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times and PTI)
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