Teachers are the nation builders. They develop character in the children in the formative years and play a critical role in shaping their world view. Teachers also play a pivotal role in building the character of the youth who are the future of the nation. It appears strange but the sad fact is that the vast majority of private school teachers in the valley are underpaid. The Covid-19 pandemic has deeply impacted thousands of school teachers in our UT working across private institutions. But despite the hardships they have suffered since 2019, school teachers and teaching as a profession receive negligible support from the public or private sector, resulting in the widespread vulnerability of teachers. A general survey done by a Non-governmental organization recently found out that the teachers are paid a nominal 5000-7000 rupees monthly at the elementary level. For the teachers teaching at secondary and high school level the average monthly remuneration is 7000-8000 rupees. While as for the higher secondary level the average monthly salary of private school teachers is 8000-9000 rupees.
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That is just the tip of the iceberg. With the standard of education improving in the valley and the avenues to accommodate the educated youth in productive sectors shrinking day by day, thousands of educated youth swarm the private schools for interviews. Seeing a high number of prospective candidates at the venue the private school administrators use it to their advantage. It is amazing that despite getting such qualified candidates who have invested a lot of their prime in earning the requisite qualification the schools still underpay them. A meticulous survey should point to the fact that the private school teachers in the urban areas are a critical case of being declared urban poor. This is after schools charge a huge amount to students under the garb of various charges. Government should issue a formal order devising the pay scale for private school teachers that is in some ways proportional to the pay revision policy of the government.
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