Contract teachers demand regularisation of service

[dwarakesh]

Gulbarga: About 500 principals and teachers working in the Morarji Desai Residential Schools and Navodaya Model Schools run by the Social Welfare Department have been running from pillar to post for the past eight years to get their services regularised.

These teachers who do not have permanent jobs were the ones who set new standards to impart quality education in the Government-run schools. While the pass percentage in the government schools in the terminal examinations continues to be abysmally low, the pass percentage in the Morarji Desai Residential Schools is exceptionally high as modern teaching methods have been adopted by teachers here.

These teachers were recruited after they passed the State-level competitive examinations. They were appointed on the basis of their merit and roster system was followed.

In spite of being appointed after they underwent all procedures, they work as contract teachers and are not paid salaries during the months of April and May when they are relieved from service. Once again in June the same teachers are reappointed on contract for another academic year. This is a regular feature year after year.

Salaries

While permanent teachers are paid Rs. 13,000 a month, contract teachers are paid a consolidated amount of Rs. 6,500 and they do not enjoy the benefits such as provident fund. And, while principals working on contract are paid only Rs. 8,000 a month, permanent teachers working as principals are paid Rs. 16,000 a month.

Besides this huge difference in the salary drawn, permanent teachers are assured of retirement benefits while teachers working on contract will not get any such benefit.

President of the Morarji Desai and Navodaya Model Residential School Teachers and Principals Horata Samiti Anaveer Harsur said here on Friday that the present BJP government had failed to stand by its assurance made in July 2008 to regularise their services. Social Welfare Minister Sudhakar had visited the pandal where the Morarji Desai Residential School Teachers were on indefinite hunger strike and had assured them that the Government would start regularisation process immediately.

Next move

Mr. Harsur said that as a last resort the contract teachers and principals working in the residential schools will launch an indefinite fast on January 19 at Belgaum when the Assembly session will be held there.

The former Minister Basavaraj Horatti and G.K. Patil, both MLCs, have agreed to join the teachers in the indefinite fast.