ECI urged to avoid usage of glue for election posters on walls of schools

Ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, the Tamil Nadu Elementary School Teachers’ Federation (TNESTF) has raised concern regarding the upkeep of education institutions used as polling stations

In a petition to the Madurai District Collector and District Election Officer K.J. Praveen Kumar, P. Srinivasan, district secretary of the TNESTF, highlighted from past elections a recurring issue of damage caused to school infrastructure by the methods used to display candidate information.

Government, government-aided, and private self-financing schools across the district are routinely converted into polling booths on election day. Under current protocol, various notices, including the mandatory list of contesting candidates, are pasted on the front walls of these classrooms using strong adhesives or gum to ensure they are visible to voters.

The federation said once the elections were over, the clean-up had left a lasting scar.

“When the election process concludes and school administrations attempt to remove these posters, the vibrant, colorful walls of our classrooms lose their original condition,” it said.

“The residue from the gum and the subsequent scraping required to clean the surfaces effectively defaces the schools.”

The TNESTF urged the district administration to move away from traditional glue-and-post methods.

Instead of permanent or damaging adhesives, they requested that the District Election Officer consider appropriate alternative measures for the 2026 polls

Suggestions from similar administrative units in other regions previously included the use of freestanding display boards, adhesive-free hanging systems using existing fixtures and removable painter’s tape.