Gurgaon: With examinations set to begin Aug 18, govt schools across the district are grappling with acute staff shortages after a large number of teachers were deployed on election duty. Nearly 90% of govt schools are facing shortages at some level, teachers said, with many assigned as booth level officers (BLOs) or BLO assistants.At Govt Senior Secondary School, Fazilpur Jharsa, 15 teachers have been assigned BLO duties and four more as BLO assistants, leaving school head Mukesh Kumar to run the institution’s roughly 780 students largely on his own. “It is extremely difficult for one person to handle a school of this size,” he said, with teaching, student supervision and administrative work all affected.In several schools with 600-700 students, only one or two teachers reportedly remain to manage classes, supervision and routine administrative work. Similar shortages have been reported in Bhondsi, where teachers said high enrolment has left a handful of staff stretched across multiple responsibilities.School heads are worried about arranging invigilators, distributing question papers, maintaining attendance, supervising students, collecting answer sheets and completing evaluation work with limited staff.District Primary Teachers’ Association president Ashok Prajapati said teachers were first sent for training and then assigned BLO duties in large numbers. He questioned how schools would conduct exams without adequate teaching staff, adding that they had also been directed to organise Independence Day activities — leaving one teacher responsible for hundreds of students across studies, exams and other events.Teachers said the BLO assignments have continued for an extended period, disrupting regular classroom teaching well before the exam schedule. They have raised the issue with the district elementary education department, seeking the return of teachers to schools before Aug 18 or an alternative staffing arrangement, and said a clear plan was needed to ensure the shortage does not affect students’ examinations or academic activities.
