Headmasters of Bengal Schools Take Out Rally Demanding Exemption from BLO Duty

PTI, Kolkata, Aug 12, 2025 : Hundreds of headmasters of secondary schools took out a rally to the Education Department headquarters here on Tuesday, demanding that they be exempted from Booth Level Officers (BLO) duty and not saddled with "works unrelated to teaching or other school administration activities".

General Secretary of 'Advanced Society for Headmasters and Headmistresses' (ASFHM), Chandan Maity, told PTI, hundreds of headmasters of state-aided, state-sponsored high schools and high madrasas walked from Karunamoyee Central Bus Stand to Bikash Bhavan, the Education Department headquarters, to press for their demands, which also include exemption from BLO duty, payment of Dearness Allowance (DA) as per central government benchmark, ensuring safety at the workplace, and inclusion in the West Bengal Health Scheme.

Maity said, "We demand that teachers should not be inducted as BLOs, as BLO work is not related to teaching and school administration work." He claimed that BLO work is causing immense stress on headmasters as they are accountable for the smooth functioning of schools.

He said participants from 24 districts participated in the rally.

The other demands include immediate recruitment of school headmasters in vacant posts in a transparent manner, timely release of funds from the School Education Department for maintenance and other activities by the high schools and high madrasas, and appointment of academic persons and teachers in school managing committees.

An Education Department official said, "Principal Secretary Binod Kumar, Secretary of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, and President of Madrasa Board had a fruitful discussion with the members of a delegation which met state officials."

Maity claimed the senior officials agreed with most of the issues raised by the association.

A senior police officer said the association members dispersed peacefully after the rally, and there was no untoward incident.

A Booth Level Officer (BLO) is assigned with election-related works, which include updating the electoral roll, making door-to-door visits for collecting data, and other works as assigned by the poll panel.