Parliament Question: Deployment of School Teachers as BLOs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO:- 1282 ANSWERED ON-27/07/2026 Deployment of School Teachers as BLOs

1282. Shri Sribharat Mathukumilli:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) the number of Government school teachers deployed as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or for any other duties relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls during the last three years, State/UT-wise;

(b) whether the Government has assessed the impact of such deployment on classroom teaching, student learning outcomes and teacher availability in Government schools, if so, the details and findings thereof;

(c) whether the Government has received any representations or complaints from teachers, school managements, parents or State Governments regarding disruption of academic activities on account of such deployment, if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon; and

(d) the measures taken by the Government to minimise diversion of teachers from teaching duties, including deployment of alternative personnel for electoral work and the timeline for implementation thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d): Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the majority of schools in the country are under the administrative control of the respective State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. Accordingly, deployment of teachers and assignment of duties to them, including for electoral purposes, fall within the administrative domain of the concerned States/UTs. The Department of School Education & Literacy does not maintain State/UT-wise information regarding deployment of Government school teachers as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or for duties relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Further, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, in its judgment dated 06.12.2007, while upholding the authority of the Election Commission of India to requisition teachers for election-related duties, observed that such deployment should be undertaken in a manner that does not adversely affect the functioning of schools and the right of children to education. The Hon'ble Court further observed that, as far as practicable, duties such as revision of electoral rolls should be assigned during holidays, non-teaching hours or non-working days so as to minimise disruption to teaching-learning activities.In pursuance of the above, the Ministry of Education issued guidelines dated 13.09.2010 to all States and Union Territories advising that duties relating to revision of electoral rolls should, as far as possible, be assigned to teachers during holidays, non-teaching hours or non-working days. The same is reiterated to all States/UTs from time to time.

The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 also emphasises that teachers should be enabled to focus on their core academic responsibilities and should not be burdened with excessive non- teaching work, so that they can devote adequate time to classroom instruction, lesson preparation, student assessment and continuous professional development.

Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to States/UTs for strengthening academic support institutions, including the State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and District Institutes of Education and Training

(DIETs), and for providing continuous academic support through Block Resource Centres

(BRCs) and Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs). The Scheme also supports technology-enabled governance and digital school management systems to improve administrative efficiency and reduce avoidable administrative burden on teachers.

Further, through Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings, review meetings and other communications, the Department of School Education & Literacy regularly advises States/UTs to ensure timely recruitment of teachers, rational deployment and optimum utilisation of human resources, and to leverage digital platforms for streamlining administrative processes, thereby enabling teachers to devote greater time to teaching-learning activities.

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