Teachers stir in J-K for equal pay

It's a regular scene now. Hundreds of teachers gather at Srinagar Municipal Park and hold a dharna, demanding the Mufti Sayeed government fu...

It’s a regular scene now. Hundreds of teachers gather at Srinagar Municipal Park and hold a dharna, demanding the Mufti Sayeed government fulfill its promises of removing pay anomaly and regularising temporary teachers. Minutes later, the police take a few dozen into custody. Then a small group protests at the CM’s Maulana Azad Road residence.

For the past five days, teachers have hit the streets daily, reminding the government of its promises, but in vain. The teachers have called for equalisation of pay with other government staff and regularisation of Rehabar-e-Taleem (RT) teachers and others working against migrant posts. In 1999, the state reached an agreement with the teachers to equalise pay but five years later, nothing has been done. Last year, when teachers struck work, CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed brokered a deal, saying the decision would be implemented in 20 days.

‘‘We demand justice and implementation of orders approved by the Cabinet sub-committee which puts teachers at par with employees working in other departments,’’ says Abdul Qayoom Wani, president of J-K Teachers’ Forum.

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The state has at least 36,000 RT teachers and 6,000 migrant teachers on its rolls. Teachers draw salaries in the Rs 4,000-6,000 scale while those in the Master grade go upto Rs 5,700-10,100. Employees working in the same grade in other departments but less qualified draw much higher salaries.

‘‘It takes seven years for RT teachers to get regular status. If they are not regularised and paid well, how can they perform their duties?’’ says Rajan Bakshi, a teacher. ‘‘The CM failed to set a timeframe to accept our demands. If our demands are not accepted, we will lock all schools and come out on the streets,’’ says Zahoor Ahmad Banday, coordinator of J-K Teachers Forum.

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