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| Edited By: Puja Pednekar |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 03, 2010, 12:14 AM IST
Responding to private school teachers’ complaints that their pay packages were substantially lower than that of their civic school counterparts, the BMC had in August issued a circular making it mandatory for all private schools, both aided and unaided, to pay primary teachers sixth pay commission salaries.
But teachers allege that while schools are hiking fees to allegedly pay teachers, the teachers are clueless about the circular and continue to be paid by the fifth pay commission guidelines. “We only read in the newspapers that we are supposed to get a hike in salaries. In reality, the school has neither issued any circular nor promised us a raise,” said a teacher from a convent school in Colaba.
Even teachers in private, aided schools are yet to see their sixth pay commission packages, “Even municipal school teachers are getting paid more than us and we have not received our salaries. We also don’t get a bonus or medical allowances,” said Rajendra Ghatge, senior teacher at IES Patkar Guruji Vidyalaya, Dadar.
“My school has already hiked fees twice to allegedly pay hiked salaries to teachers. But we have not received a single raise,” said a teacher from a school in Grant Road.
Teachers are victimised and used as scapegoats to hike fees, added Jayant Jain, president of Forum for Fairness in Education.
“The teachers have nowhere to go to register complaints. The teachers’ grievance cell located in Dadar has also become low-key in the last four years. They have no choice but to seek the help of outfits like the Bharatiya Kamgaar Sena for their cause,” said Arundhati Chauhan, president, United Parents Teachers Association.
As per the sixth pay commission, the pay scale of school teachers has been revised and upgraded. Primary school teachers have been upgraded from Rs4,500 to Rs6,500. The teacher will be shifted on to pay band (2) after a maximum of 20 years, with grade pay of Rs4,200. Trained graduate teachers’ pay has been upgraded from Rs5,500 to Rs7,450. Pay band (2) is upgraded to Rs34,800 with grade pay of Rs4,600.
Post-graduate teachers’ salaries have been upgraded by Rs1,000, till Rs12,000, and pay band (2) at Rs9,300 to Rs34,800, with grade pay of Rs4,800. Vice-principals at the initial stage have been upgraded to Rs8,000-Rs13,500 and finally fixed in pay band (3) with grade pay of Rs5,400. Principals have been upgraded to Rs12,000, Rs16,500, and finally fixed in pay band (3) at Rs15,600, Rs39,100 with grade pay of Rs6,600.
