Burdened By Mandatory Apps, Maharashtra Teachers Threaten ‘Digital Disconnect’
Burdened By Mandatory Apps, Maharashtra Teachers Threaten ‘Digital Disconnect’
Teachers say excessive app-based reporting is harming classroom teaching and mental well-being
Teachers’ organisations across Maharashtra have issued a strong warning to the state government, saying they may collectively “disconnect” from official digital platforms for a limited period if the growing burden of mobile applications and online data entry is not reduced.
The warning comes amid mounting frustration among school teachers who say that administrative work through mobile apps has begun to overshadow their core responsibility of teaching. According to teachers’ groups, educators are currently required to operate more than 38 different government-mandated applications and submit data through at least 10 online links every week.
Despite repeated representations over the years, teachers allege that new digital platforms continue to be introduced without scrapping older ones or streamlining the reporting process. They say this has created an unmanageable workload that spills beyond school hours and directly affects classroom engagement.
On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshak Samiti (MPSS) formally wrote to the state education minister, demanding that teachers be given the right to disconnect from non-essential digital work for specific hours or days. The letter argues that excessive app-based reporting is reducing time for lesson preparation, student interaction and academic focus.
Vijay Kombe, chairperson of MPSS, said the issue was not about rejecting technology but about how it was being imposed. “Teachers are not against digital tools. But when we are forced to spend hours uploading the same information on multiple apps, it takes away from our primary duty of teaching children,” he said, adding that the continuous digital pressure has become unsustainable.
Several teachers echoed these concerns, saying they are effectively on round-the-clock duty due to constant app notifications and deadlines. A primary school teacher said that even after school hours, educators are expected to update attendance records, mid-day meal data and various surveys on their personal phones. “There is no fixed time to rest or prepare lessons. We are asking for the right to disconnect digitally so that teaching does not suffer,” the teacher said.
The letter also highlights the financial burden placed on teachers, noting that many are paying out of pocket for mobile data, device storage and app-related expenses. Teachers’ organisations have argued that this amounts to an indirect transfer of administrative work to educators without any additional compensation.
If the government does not respond positively, the teachers have warned they will observe a symbolic “digital disconnect” as a form of protest, while continuing classroom teaching. They insist the move is meant to draw attention to the crisis rather than disrupt education.
The organisations have urged the government to rationalise the number of apps, merge overlapping platforms and respect teachers’ professional boundaries, warning that without urgent reform, the quality of education could suffer further.
