Secondary Education Board Urges EC to Exempt Staff from Poll Duty Amid Exam and Recruitment Workload

MP | 24 July 2025 | Kolkata: The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has formally requested the state Election Commission to exempt its staff and officers from election-related duties, citing acute manpower shortages and a heavy workload linked to board examinations and a major teacher recruitment drive.

In a letter dated July 21 addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer, WBBSE president Ramanuj Ganguly expressed concern over the direct requisition of Board employees for duty as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). He emphasized that such assignments would severely disrupt the Board’s core responsibilities, particularly as preparations for the Madhyamik Examinations 2026—scheduled to begin on February 2—are already underway.

The Board, which acts as the appointing and disciplinary authority for teaching and non-teaching staff in over 16,000 schools, is currently conducting a recruitment process to fill 35,726 teaching posts. This recruitment is under strict timeline pressure, with the Supreme Court mandating its completion by December 31.

Highlighting the critical nature of its responsibilities, the WBBSE noted that many of its tasks are “confidential, sensitive and time-bound.” It further pointed out that the last recruitment of Board personnel took place in 2000, and since then, the institution has been functioning with a skeletal workforce, struggling to meet expanding demands.

Given these constraints, the WBBSE has appealed to the Chief Electoral Officer to issue appropriate instructions to Electoral Registration Officers across constituencies, urging them not to assign election duties to Board staff during this critical period.