Mumbai | September 7, 2026
BMC teachers training for the new curriculum has been made mandatory for about 2,000 teachers in Mumbai even as many of them are carrying out election-related duties as Booth Level Officers under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, according to a report by Loksatta. The training is scheduled from September 7 to 10, with teachers required to attend from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.
The training covers the new curriculum for Classes 2, 3, 4 and 6. Teachers from the M East, M West, N, S, T and L administrative divisions have been instructed to attend sessions at designated training centres. The requirement has led to dissatisfaction among teachers, who have said that the training has been scheduled as the first academic term approaches its end.
The teachers are also handling election-related work as BLOs under the SIR exercise. Their responsibilities include visiting homes to deliver notices, checking documents and processing applications related to electoral registration and corrections. These include Form 6 for new voter registration, Form 7 for deletion of names and Form 8 for corrections to voter-list details.
According to the report, electoral registration officers have directed BLO teachers to attend election work for at least three days a week. The report also states that teachers who do not attend may face action under the Representation of the People Act. The combination of these instructions and the full-day curriculum training has left teachers facing overlapping administrative responsibilities.
Teachers have argued that election assignments, training and other administrative duties are reducing the time available for classroom teaching. They have also raised concerns about the effect of these responsibilities on their mental and physical health. The teachers’ position, as reported by Loksatta, is that the additional work could disrupt the academic schedule and delay completion of the prescribed curriculum.
The distance of some training centres has added to the difficulties, according to the report. Vikas Ghuge, state president of the Prahar Teachers’ Organisation, has urged the administration to take immediate notice of the planning issues and hold the training at ward level. He has also called for a solution that would provide relief to teachers handling election duties.
The teachers have been demanding for several months that they be freed from non-teaching assignments. The latest training instructions have intensified that demand, with the teachers’ organisation questioning how classroom responsibilities can be managed alongside election-related work and mandatory full-day training.
The immediate administrative issue is the conduct of the September 7-10 training programme for the affected teachers while SIR-related BLO duties continue. The report does not indicate whether the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has announced a revised schedule, ward-level training arrangements or exemptions for teachers assigned to election work.
