Pune: : Teachers assigned to special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are being given time away from classrooms, reducing teaching hours for municipal and zilla parishad (ZP) school students between Sept 21 and 30.The revised school schedule has shortened the morning session by an hour and the afternoon session by two hours, resulting in more than three hours of lost classroom time daily. The move has raised serious concern among parents, teachers, and school heads, particularly as schools scramble to complete their syllabi before upcoming examinations.Teachers noted that election-related duties, training programmes, and other official assignments have repeatedly disrupted regular teaching since June. This latest reduction, they warn, will leave students with less time for syllabus completion, revision, and individual academic support. In response, parents have urged the administration to make alternative arrangements so that students do not bear the academic cost of election-related duties.Several educators expressed frustration over balancing classroom responsibilities with these official assignments. Vilas Jadhav, a municipal school teacher, said, “We are expected to complete the syllabus, conduct assessments, and prepare students for examinations, but every few weeks our teaching schedule is disrupted. When classroom hours are reduced further, it becomes incredibly difficult to give individual attention to students who need additional help.”Another teacher, Mohini Hiranwale from Ahilyanagar, highlighted the impact on underprivileged students: “Many of our students need regular classroom support because they cannot afford private tuition. When teachers are sent for SIR work and school hours are simultaneously reduced, these children lose valuable learning time. We are worried that this gap will become more difficult to bridge as examinations approach.”Mahendra Ganpule, former vice-president of the Headmasters’ Association, noted that schools had already faced multiple disruptions since June due to SIR-related work, health app updates, and training programmes. “If the syllabus remains incomplete, when and how will examinations be conducted? The govt and education department must consider the academic loss students are facing,” he said.He added that teachers should remain in their classrooms instead of being pulled for election duties, especially in institutions already grappling with severe staff shortages. The crisis is particularly acute in several municipal schools facing teacher shortages. In some instances, schools have been forced to merge students from two different grades into a single classroom as a combined class.Rani Tiwari, a parent whose child studies at a school in Ghatkopar, shared similar frustrations. She said the school was already understaffed. “Since June, teachers have repeatedly been sent out for election-related work. Students are losing vital learning time because of these shortages. The administration must ensure their education does not suffer due to non-academic duties,” she said.
