The North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday held talks with the teachers’ association after 7,000 teachers stopped taking online classes over the issue of non-payment of salaries since August.
Kuldeep Singh Khatri, president of Shikshak Nyay Manch, an association for teachers under the civic body, said the North body officials had offered “to pay one month’s salary in order to call off the strike but we refused the offer”.
He said the tea chers will hold an “indefinite strike” outside the BJP State headquarters if “our dues are not paid by December 8”.
“If our salaries, dearness allowance are not given, then we will lock the schools. Our salaries have not been paid since August, and our DA has been pending for the last five months. For the last 15 months, teachers have been using their personal devices and spending on Internet connection services to teach the children. We receive no assistance nor do we have any money to even pay for our daily travel,” said Mr. Khatri, adding that the non-payment of salaries has been a “recurring issue for the last five years” at the BJP-led civic body.
North body chairman of the education committee, Alok Verma, said that the civic body has “developed a software” to assist teachers for conducting online classes. He added, “Close to ₹80 crore of the municipal fund from the Delhi Government is pending and we can pay the salaries only when this fund is given. Hopefully, there will be no issues in disbursing salaries from January, next year.”
Ranjeet Singh, North Corporation director of education, said that “all efforts were in place” to convince the teachers from calling off their strike.
“At least ₹80 crore will help the salaries for one month, we have 7,000 teachers and 2,88,000 students in North civic schools. We are putting efforts from our end to convince the teachers to resume duties,” said Mr. Singh.
Aam Aadmi Party chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the BJP-led civic body “owes about ₹ 27,800 crore to the agencies under the Centre and the BJP”.
He said, “The dues of the North Corporation include ₹12,444 crore from the Central Government, ₹2,500 crore from the South body, ₹857 crore from the DDA and ₹12,000 crore from hoardings. People will throw the BJP out from the municipal corporations in the 2022 elections so that it can work on the Kejriwal model to improve the lives of the people of Delhi.”
