‘Not even one day off’: Delhi teachers juggle BLO, exam duties

Between 10 a.m. and noon on Monday, Nitika*’s phone kept buzzing with calls from unknown numbers, none of which she could take. She was invigilating an examination at the school where she teaches in Mustafabad. By the next day, complaints had reached the local election office that their Booth Level Officer (BLO), Ms. Nitika, was not responding to voters seeking help with their ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) proceedings.

Assigned as a BLO in July last year, Ms. Nitika said she had barely taken a day off since December, juggling teaching with SIR-related work, which has continued through successive stages of the exercise.

“The pressure is immense. My day starts at 5 a.m. It all started with the pre-SIR work. Now we have to conduct hearings as well. Nobody asks us before adding extra work,” said the 30-year-old.