‘Not a vote bank… so no regularisation in 10 years’: Guest teachers at Delhi government schools as contract ends
Our salary has not been increased within at least six years, said a guest teacher at a government school.
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The daily remuneration of a post graduate teacher (PGT) teacher and a trained graduate teacher (TGT) ranges between Rs 1,403 and Rs 1,445. (File Photo)“Das saal hogaye inko wada kiye hue… Abhi tak ek bhi guest teacher ko inhone regular nahi kiya (It has been 10 years since the Delhi government has promised us… Not a single guest teacher has been regularised),” said a 37-year-old guest teacher whose contract ended just a week ago. Inflation is the same for every citizen, the guest teacher added.
Last week, the All India Guest Teachers’ Association (AIGTA) wrote to the Directorate of Education (DoE), stating: “Issuing an order to render the guest teachers unemployed by prematurely terminating their contracts in this manner is unfair. The guest teachers are expressing anger over the fact that their contract was extended till June 30 and then they were terminated prematurely on May 10… the guest teachers are feeling humiliated. Such orders seem to lower the prestige of the Education Department, while raising questions over the… coordination and intentions of the Department officials… Why should they be paid less if they are putting in the same efforts as that of a permanent teacher?”
The daily remuneration of a post graduate teacher (PGT) teacher and a trained graduate teacher (TGT) ranges between Rs 1,403 and Rs 1,445. Our salary has not been increased within at least six years, said a guest teacher at a government school.
While the AAP has time and again promised to regularise the positions of guest teachers in Delhi government schools, many believe that this would not happen as they are not the “vote bank” of the party.
“The fight for regularisation has been continuing for quite some time now. They (the Delhi government) do not take the issue of guest lecturers seriously as they believe that most of us don’t vote here, in Delhi. Most of us come from neighbouring states… maybe that’s why our issues are not given importance… as we are not part of the vote bank this election (Lok Sabha),” said a guest teacher who has been teaching in Delhi government schools for the past decade.
Echoing the same concerns, Arun Dedha, AIGTA president and a guest teacher, said: “We will raise this issue during the Vidhan Sabha elections… we feel like this issue might not get as much attention during the Lok Sabha polls.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, several guest teachers who have been working at Delhi government schools for more than five years shared the situation on ground.
“Imagine a middle-class person running their house without salary for two months. This year, not only have the contracts been terminated, but there is no Mission Buniyaad for guest teachers to be paid on a daily basis. Many of us are facing difficulties in running our families… This is the fate of nearly 16,000 guest teachers at present,” said Dedha, who has also been a guest teacher at a government school in Delhi’s Trilokpuri for nearly 11 years now.
Despite several attempts, the government did not provide a comment on the matter.
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