MUMBAI, Jan. 28 -- M Ashish, a primary school teacher at a zilla parishad school in Wardha district, starts classes at 10am. Although classes end at 12.30pm, Ashish is not even halfway through his work day. Between 12.30pm and 1.15pm, while students take their seats for the state-sponsored midday meal, he is busy calculating the quantity of foodgrains consumed, based on student attendance. He also completes paysheet-related work. "We need to fill out this information through an app before 2pm. If I don't, the bill for that particular day will not be passed," he explains. From 1.15 pm to 4 pm, Ashish is busy with online and offline administrative work such as filling attendance details, uploading student data on various portals such as UDISE Plus, Shalarth and Saral, uploading photos and reports of how national festivals, and the birth and death anniversaries of leaders were observed, on Google sheets sent by the education department. He also enters data for campaigns relating to plastic-free schools, de-addiction and tree plantation. "Every activity needs photos, proof and immediate uploading. Even the slightest delay must be explained. I have downloaded around 30 apps on my phone for this purpose," he says. These are only some of the mandatory, non-teaching tasks that must be performed by teachers in government schools, largely in rural areas in the state. Many government teachers also work as booth-level officers for voter registration throughout the year. They participate in population and economic surveys and are assigned tasks such as counting animals during government drives. During health campaigns, teachers distribute medicines and insecticides, and report cases of illness. They submit daily, monthly and special reports relating to scholarships, nutrition, attendance and academic progress. "I also attend meetings of the parents' association, alumni association, school management committee and committees relating to student safety. On working Saturdays, I upload minutes and photographs of these meetings," says Ashish. Throughout the day, WhatsApp messages keep coming from various officials. "We receive five to ten new messages daily, many of them threatening to stop salaries if information is not shared immediately," he says. Like Ashish, teachers are also required to conduct a reading test of students of each class on the NIPUN Bharat app once a month, apart from submitting data regarding adult education on the ULLAS app. "Despite all these non-academic tasks, teachers are doing a good job, judging by the students' performance," says Vijay Kombe, chairperson of the Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshak Samiti (MPSS), a teacher's union. They burdened with a series of non-teaching tasks, teachers and are also constrained by internet connectivity problems, especially in schools in rural parts. "In this case, teachers have to travel 4-5km from the school to fill out the data on the apps," Kombe adds. Since this is a tall order, many teachers end up using their personal internet data. They also need to purchase mobile devices that can support so many apps, says Mahendra Ganpule, former vice-president of the Maharashtra State Principals Association (MPPS). The association recently wrote to education minister Dada Bhuse, demanding that teachers be allowed to disconnect from non-essential digital work during certain hours or on specific days. "The problem is not the use of digital tools. It's about forcing teachers to upload the same information on multiple apps, every day. This continuous digital pressure takes away time from teaching and has become unsustainable." Responding to this, a senior official from the state education department, said, "Information is required to track government funds used for students."...