Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Feb 22: High school teachers in Mangaluru are facing mounting pressure as they juggle two demanding roles — achieving 100% SSLC results and performing election duties as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The dual responsibility is stretching teachers to their limits and raising concerns about classroom performance.

Several government and aided high school assistant teachers across the educational divisions in Dakshina Kannada district have been assigned BLO duties to assist in voter list revisions for assembly constituencies. These same teachers are already responsible for preparing students for the SSLC examinations and ensuring strong academic outcomes. Balancing both responsibilities simultaneously has become a serious challenge.

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Teachers report spending their days conducting house-to-house visits, uploading photographs on election apps, and mapping voter lists, leaving little time to guide students in the final stages of exam preparation. Lessons often go unclarified, and students miss out on crucial academic support.

Dakshina Kannada district president of the Karnataka State High School Assistant Teachers’ Association, Mohammad Riaz told Udayavani, “This time, the Election Commission has appointed teachers as BLOs. Previously, Anganwadi teachers handled this role. Now, even SSLC teachers are being appointed, which is affecting students’ learning. The BLO targets are daily and relentless, and the pressure is immense.”

While many districts exempted SSLC teachers from BLO duties to protect academic interests, Dakshina Kannada district has over 50 BLOs who are actively teaching SSLC classes. Mangaluru, Moodbidri, and Ullal taluks are especially impacted.

Compared with other districts in Karnataka, Dakshina Kannada has fewer government teachers. During previous surveys, shortages required staff from other departments to assist. With the upcoming national census, similar challenges are expected. Deputy Commissioner K Raju noted that teachers’ associations can appeal to district authorities for attention.

Teachers had already requested the education minister and department officials not to assign BLO duties to SSLC teachers, warning that exam results would suffer. “However, our requests were ignored,” said Siddabasappa, state president of the High School Assistant Teachers’ Association.

One teacher described the situation: “My school is in one location, but my BLO duty area is elsewhere, and I have no familiarity with residents there. When I go to teach, I receive repeated calls from people in my BLO area. Some come to the school looking for me, interrupting lessons. Even at home, calls and visits continue until midnight. Every day we must report BLO progress, and notices are issued if targets aren’t met. Under these conditions, how can we improve SSLC results or teach 8th and 9th graders effectively?”

Teachers say this dual burden is stretching them beyond capacity, threatening academic outcomes and highlighting the challenges of administrative overreach.