Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government will appoint over 10,000 temporary teachers to keep classes running while many regular teachers in the state are busy with voter list revision under the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) programme. The order was issued by Director of General Education Umesh NSK IAS.

Many government staff, including school teachers, have been given extra work as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for the voter list update.

Teachers’ groups raise concern

The decision followed a letter from Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) General Secretary T.K.A. Shafi to Education Minister V. Sivankutty. He warned that sending teachers for BLO work could harm students’ learning.

The Kerala Pradesh School Teachers Association (KPSTA) and the Kerala Private Primary Headmasters Association (KPPHA) also asked the government to post temporary teachers in place of those sent on election duty.

30,000 employees on revision duty

About 30,000 government employees across Kerala have been appointed as BLOs for the SIR work. The duty is planned from November 4 to December 4, but it may continue longer depending on progress.

Of these, more than 10,000 are teachers from lower primary, high school, and non-gazetted higher secondary schools.