BALURGHAT, Nov. 23 -- The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has severely disrupted the functioning of government primary schools across South Dinajpur, with a large number of primary teachers deployed as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). As a result, many schools are operating with only one or two teachers, pushing the district's primary education system into a crisis.
According to administrative sources, nearly 2,500 primary school teachers have been assigned BLO duty for the SIR process. In at least a hundred schools, classes are now being run by just one or two teachers. In several institutions, even that limited presence has been affected, as teachers are unable to attend school regularly while juggling BLO responsibilities.
Although the administration had advised teachers to attend school in the morning and conduct BLO duties later in the day, officials privately admit that such an arrangement is practically impossible. The SIR work requires visiting households, distributing forms, guiding residents on how to fill them, collecting the completed forms and finally uploading details to the Election Commission portal - a process teachers say is extremely time-consuming.
With teachers often away on duty, mid-day meals in many schools are now completely dependent on the cooks. They are handling everything - from buying groceries to preparing meals and serving students - without any teacher present to supervise. This has raised questions about safety, accountability and the overall management of the scheme.
When asked about the situation, an official of the district administration, said: "We are looking into the matter. However, no complaints regarding mid-day meals in primary schools have been reported so far." Sources in the district administration stated that they are committed to ensuring that both academic activities and the mid-day meal programme function smoothly. But with the SIR process expected to continue for another week, concerns grow over how schools will manage during this period.
Tapas Halder, a primary teacher from Balurghat assigned to BLO duty, said: "It is very difficult to manage school in the morning and then carry out SIR work. Going door-to-door to distribute forms, explaining how to fill them, collecting them later and finally uploading everything to the portal is extremely stressful. Under such pressure, handling both school and BLO duties at the same time is practically impossible."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.