Mumbai, April 22 -- Thousands of teachers across Maharashtra are facing the threat of FIRs if they fail to report for voter list verification duty next month, at a time when they have been simultaneously assigned census work and training for a new curriculum, leaving many struggling to manage overlapping responsibilities. According to an April 17 order issued by district collectors, teachers have been directed to attend census training from May 3 to 18, followed by field surveys until May 31 for Census 2027. At the same time, thousands have been appointed as booth-level officers (BLOs) for voter list verification, a role that involves door-to-door data collection. As per the Maharashtra State Election Commission's directive, an FIR may be filed against teachers who fail to report for this duty. Meanwhile, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has scheduled training for the new curriculum for teachers of Classes 2 to 4 from May 11 to 30. Teachers have raised concerns about the overlapping schedules, questioning how they are expected to fulfil all three responsibilities simultaneously. "We have to attend census work, voter duty and training at the same time. It is becoming very difficult to manage everything," said Vijay Kombe from the Maharashtra State Primary Teachers' Committee. Kombe added that he has written to the government requesting that the SCERT curriculum training be postponed. Apart from the FIR warning for voter duty, district authorities have also cautioned that administrative action will be taken against teachers who fail to report for census work. Teachers pointed out that the summer vacation is the only long break they get during the year, but even this period is often taken up by additional responsibilities such as school admissions and preparation for the new academic term. "This year, with three major duties coinciding, teachers' workload has increased significantly," said Kombe. "We are not opposing census duty or the training, but we are requesting that the training schedule be adjusted depending on other duties." Officials from SCERT said they are aware of the situation. "The census is a national duty, and the training is also important. We will try to find a proper solution," said Nandkumar Bedse, director of SCERT. The first phase of Census 2027, India's first fully digital decennial exercise, is being held from April to September 2026, during which data on housing conditions, amenities (like drinking water and sanitation), and assets (such as internet access and vehicles) will be collected. This will be followed by the population count in phase two, scheduled for February 2027....