MUMBAI, May 5 -- In a first, a private school management has written to the municipal commissioner and the civic education officer, objecting to the appointment of teachers from private, government-aided schools as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for the ongoing revision of the voters' list. The Shikshan Mandal in Goregaon, which runs English- and Marathi-medium schools, says nearly half its teachers have been assigned these duties, impacting academic work. It also claims this is a violation of government regulations. Until now, teachers in municipal and government schools have protested being assigned election and related work, saying it compromises their academic duties. This is the first time a private school management has spoken up. In its letter, the school claims such appointments violate rules as well as earlier court orders. It said the issue of assigning election-related work to private school staff has been contested before. A petition filed by Girish Samant of the Shikshan Mandal in the Bombay High Court had challenged this practice, and the court had ruled in favour of the teachers, stating that they should not be forced into such duties, the letter states. Despite this, a Shikshan Mandal member alleges, teachers are being pressured. Messages are being sent late at night on WhatsApp groups of school principals and teachers, asking them to report for BLO duty. Some of these messages carry warnings, saying failure to comply could lead to salary cuts, the letter states. Through its letter, the Goregaon school management has urged the municipal commissioner to intervene. Girish Samant of the Shikshan Mandal said threatening messages, especially those warning of salary cuts, are unacceptable. Opposition to adding election-related tasks to a teacher's workload is gathering momentum. Several private school associations and teachers' unions have raised the issue before. With a private school management speaking up, it is hoped that other institutions come forward so that they can take a collective stand. This issue of was raised at the previous education committee meeting. Members urged the civic education officer to ask the government to exempt some of the teachers from these duties. But the officer clarified that the state election office assigns these duties, and civic education authorities are unable to take a decision....