Chandigarh, May 25 : “It’s impossible to implement the provisions of Right to Education (RTE) Act if the welfare and rights of teachers are ignored. Teachers are the most important component and building block for successful implementation of right to education.” This was the unanimous voice of all teachers, parents and social activists who deliberated on the topic “Teachers – Building Block of Society : Challenges and Opportunity,” at an open public interaction of “Lala Lajpat Rai Thinkers Forum” organised by the Servants of the People Society here today.Hemant Goswami, convener of the forum, mentioned that Section 24(3) and 38(n) of the RTE Act provides that a redressal mechanism for handling grievances of the teachers should be formed but still none of the state governments, including Chandigarh Administration, have taken any initiative to ensure the same.
“While the illegality of not paying the salary according to the norms of education department is widespread in private schools, the government is also treating education casually and not fulfilling its obligation under the Act by keeping teachers who joined on temporary basis or under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for duties other than they were appointed for. Requirement of teachers is a permanent need so why appoint teachers on temporary basis,” Goswami added.
Arvind Rana, the president of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Teachers’ Welfare Association, stressed that the teachers working on contract, under the rolls of SSA or as guest teachers for years must be absorbed in the department. “The government has invested in their trainings and recruitment. If these teachers who now have ample experience and are well moulded within the public education structure are not retained there would be immense loss to the quality of education as well as extra burden on the public exchequer in training and inducting new teachers,” he added.
Speaking about the student-teacher ratio, Neeraj Atri of Swabhiman Trust mentioned that even in the government schools, there are 65 students alloted to every teacher whereas under the RTE Act, the number should be 35. “If the government itself is not following the norms how can it expect the private institutions to adhere to the norms,” Neeraj questioned.
Raj Mohan, the president of Contract Teachers’ Union mentioned that just to live up to the standards of RTE Act, around 1,200 additional teachers are required in Chandigarh itself. These additional posts are besides the teachers working under the SSA, on contract or as guest teachers.
Another section of teachers mentioned about the stagnation they were facing in terms of career development. Jeet Singh Somal, chief patron of the Government Regular Teachers’ Association, said that promotions from Master cadre to Lecturer should be done to motivate teachers who are facing stagnation for the last 20 years.
The exploitation of teachers who are appointed on contract is itself a very unfortunate situation. Ajay, the secretary of SSA Teachers’ Association said if any teacher raises his voice or tries to expose the corruption or other illegalities, his services are unceremoniously terminated. “This is like blackmailing. Where should teachers who are employed as guest teachers or contract teachers go with their grouse. No court listens to us, no government listens to us. Are we not part of the education system? Rana asked.
Onkar Chand, chairman of the Servants’ of the People Society, highlighted the role of teachers in building India and during the freedom movement. He mentioned that in India, traditionally teachers were accorded the highest honour and considered next to God. This importance of teacher in our culture shows that Indian society traditionally recognised the important role a teacher plays in shaping the community.
Teachers from private as well as government institutions participated in the deliberations. Representatives of Government Teachers’ Association, Guest Teachers’ Union, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Teachers’ Association and Contract Teachers’ Union rued that teacher, who is the most important element of the education reforms, is being ignored in the planning and deliberations about the RTE Act. The focus is only on private schools and children while ignoring the teachers.