The Central Board of Secondary Education’s recent circular asking schools affiliated with it to frame salary, allowances, and service conditions of teachers highlights institutions’ repeated failure to ensure decent pay and service conditions for teachers.
This is not the first time that the issue of salary and service condition of teachers in CBSE schools has been flagged, but to no avail. The circular itself says a number of complaints have been received against affiliated schools alleging payment of partial salary, delay in disbursement of salary and allowances, non-availability of welfare measures for teachers, retaining teachers after schools hours, and engaging them in non-academic activities.
Teachers, on the condition of anonymity, say the working conditions in some institutions are nothing but oppressive. “From discourteous and uncivilised behaviour to gender bias, teachers face a number of issues,” says a teacher in a city school.
“I have heard of teachers’ salary being cut if they are late for three days even if they take the school bus. In one school, teachers and students both are made to stand out,” she adds.
Schools fail to comply with salary and service conditions though these are laid down in the affiliation by-laws of the CBSE.
The Kerala High Court too, in 2012, had asked the CBSE to enforce as a condition for affiliation payment by the managements of minimum monthly provisional salary of ₹10,000 for primary and middle school teachers, ₹15,000 for secondary school teachers, and ₹20,000 for senior secondary teachers. Yet, not only do teachers continue to be paid a pittance, even after decades of service, some even have to face the ignominy of returning half of what reaches their bank account every month to the management. “On paper, they may get a good salary, but their take-home is only half of that,” a teacher says.
They are also denied various benefits, including maternity leave, having to work beyond class hours, and being made to take up non-academic activities.
Kerala Unaided School Teachers Organisation vice-president Shajer Khan says such practices in schools amount to human rights violations. “Even the time for bathroom visits is dictated in some institutions.”
It does not help that the sector is unorganised, with teachers appointed on contract and at the mercy of managements.
Despite repeated complaints to the CBSE, no action has been taken against the erring schools, he alleges. “The circular is just an eyewash. The board is always on the side of the school managements. The government had promised a draft bill to ensure minimum wages, but it was not introduced in the recent Assembly session.”
While there is talk of minimum salary, no scale of pay has been fixed for teachers. A comprehensive legislation for pay parity with State government scales is needed, he says.
