BENGALURU: As the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) board examinations near, there are concerns over the availability of teachers during the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. SSLC examinations are scheduled to begin from March 31 and continue till April 15. Election dates are yet to be announced, but it is expected to take place in May 2023.
There is only a gap of two weeks, when the elections can take place without clashing with the exams. “At present, we are not perturbed over whether this will become an issue. Teachers have to be on election duty, but hopefully, it should not be a problem as these will not clash with the exams. There is plenty of time after the exams end,” Public Instruction Commissioner R Vishal told TNIE.
In December 2022, around 60,000 teachers as booth-level officers were deployed on election duty, immobilising government schools. Teachers fear that the same might recur if appropriate measures are not undertaken.
Adding to this, there is confusion over the assessment dates of Classes 5 and 8 after KSEAB postponed it indefinitely, which was scheduled to begin from Monday. A petition was filed before the Karnataka High Court, and a final verdict is expected on Tuesday. As the elections are approaching, teachers are also feeling nervous about their election duties.
Vishal however said the department is adequately staffed with teachers to handle both exams and elections. “There are sufficient teachers to be able to handle the situation. In case they clash, there should not be much of a problem. We will be able to manage both. Otherwise, some arrangements will be made to ensure that exams do not happen on those days. Meanwhile, there might be some juggling within the department to ensure teachers do their duties,” he said.