Poll duty during exams irks teachers

In another hurdle in the ongoing examination at schools and colleges, principals are worried about how they will conduct exams if the teaching and non-teaching staff will be out on election duty for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"We have received a letter, which requires us to attend training sessions on April 2, 15 and 16. However, we have an examination in school on April 2. If teaching and non-teaching staff is attending training sessions, who will conduct the exams? If we reschedule the exam, it will be the students and parents who will be at loss," said Uday Nare, teacher at Hansraj Morarji Public School, Andheri.

Similar, is the situation at colleges. "We were asked to relieve 117 teaching and non-teaching staff for election training and duty. However, we have relieved only 70, who are employed in the aided section of the college," said Dinesh Panjwani, principal, National College, Bandra. "With very few teachers available during the exams, the quality of supervision will be compromised and it seems we are playing with children's future," he added. There are several Mumbai University exams lined up through the next months. However, the varsity has scheduled only those exams, which were to be held on the day of polls and counting day.

Unaided colleges have also refused to send their teachers for election duties. "We have not sent our staff for election duties and training since we are an unaided college," said Chaitali Chakraborty, principal of Thakur College, Kandivli.

The examiners and moderators who are appointed by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), are also upset with the election commission officials not complying to the chief electoral officer's directive of exempting them from polling duties. "We were told to go to the district level officers and give a list of the teachers, who will not be able to participate in the poll duties due to their involvement in the board exam assessment. However, when we went to the district collector's office, they refused to accept our letters and said that we would have to do our polling duties since they did not know about the exemption," said Prashant Redij, member of the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals' association.

The teachers have demanded action against the officials, who are not following the chief election officer's directive. "Teachers are threatened to be arrested if they do not participate in the poll duties. However, this time when the election commission has exempted the teachers from the duties, the officials in the department have refused to abide by it. Hence, they are the ones who should be punished first," said Anil Deskhmukh, secretary, Maharashtra Federation of Junior College Teachers' Organisation.