Teachers on SIR duty protest sharing of personal phone numbers, cite round-the-clock calls

3 min readMumbaiJul 13, 2026 10:13 PM IST

Already burdened with electoral duties in addition to their teaching responsibilities, teachers said constant phone calls have become an added source of stress. (Representational image/File)

Teachers deployed as Block Level Officers (BLOs) for the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll have raised fresh concerns over the public circulation of their personal mobile numbers, alleging they are being inundated with calls from citizens and political workers at all hours of the day.

Already burdened with electoral duties in addition to their teaching responsibilities, teachers said constant phone calls have become an added source of stress. They alleged that their personal numbers were shared without their consent, leaving them to answer queries well beyond their designated SIR working hours.

“These calls come at any time of the day, even though we have fixed hours for SIR work after completing our school duties. Answering them has become an added headache,” a teacher said.

According to teachers, as political parties have intensified efforts to complete the SIR process, leaflets containing the names and personal mobile numbers of BLOs for different localities have been widely distributed so that citizens can contact them directly.

“There is no limit to these calls. I have received calls as early as 7 am and even around midnight. Citizens call during their free time without realising that we are busy teaching in schools. Even on half-days, we have to complete our primary responsibility before beginning BLO work,” another teacher said.

Some teachers said they now feel like “call-centre workers” because of the volume of calls seeking clarification on the revision process. They also said that they are threatened with complaints, particularly by local political leaders, if they fail to answer calls.

Jalinder Sarode, working president of the teachers’ union Shikshak Sena, said the SIR exercise has placed an excessive burden on teachers.

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“In the SIR process, teachers are being required to carry out an extremely time-consuming and stressful assignment in addition to their teaching responsibilities. Their personal mobile numbers were printed on the forms without obtaining their prior consent. As a result, nearly 90% of women teachers, in particular, have been receiving repeated phone calls from early morning until late at night. Continuous enquiries from political workers and other individuals have significantly increased the mental stress on teachers and have also raised concerns about their safety,” Sarode said.

He urged the Election Commission to set up a dedicated helpline to handle citizens’ queries instead of routing them directly to teachers deployed as BLOs.