Government school teachers in Delhi who are deployed as booth-level officers (BLOs) and carry out election-related duties during holidays or school vacations will be eligible for special earned leave, compensatory leave, or earned leave.
As reported by PTI, the Directorate of Education (DoE), in a recently issued circular, apprised schools of the guidelines about leave for teachers assigned BLO duties.
The circular arrived following representations from faculty associations seeking leave benefits for doing election work during holidays and vacation periods. The matter was considered after communications from Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) and the Election Commission (EC).
The Directorate has communicated the guidelines to the heads of government schools and other education officials for information and required action.
The EC has further outlined the remuneration for BLOs and supervisors. Under its prevailing guidelines, a BLO is entitled to an annual remuneration of Rs 12,000, while a BLO supervisor is entitled to Rs 18,000, the circular said.
In addition, a special incentive of Rs 2,000 is payable for work related to Special Summary Revision (SSR), Summary Revision (SR), and other special drives.
‘SIR Duties Shouldn’t Impose Unbearable Burden on School Teachers’: Delhi HC
Earlier, the Delhi High Court directed the ECI to ensure that election-related duties allotted to school teachers do not impose an unbearable burden, while noting that the Commission’s constitutional powers must be exercised without negatively affecting classroom teaching.
The judgment came during the hearing of a public interest litigation objecting to the large-scale deployment of government, municipal, and government-aided school teachers as Booth Level Officers and enumeration staff for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi.
In reply, the Commission placed before the court a comprehensive affidavit clarifying that no teacher was being assigned SIR duties during school hours. It said the exercise was being carried out in strict adherence to the Supreme Court’s directions.
(With PTI Inputs)