They are amongst the poorest of the lot. Their salaries are just about hand to mouth. They hardly make any savings and yet they are called the pillars of the nation. Yes, we are talking about the private school teachers. A good majority of them still end up earning even less than half of what a mason or a carpenter earns during a month.
There are schools both within Srinagar and outside districts where teachers are still paid about five to six thousand rupees per month. At the time of the interview their Bachelors in Education degrees are whetted thoroughly, they are interviewed meticulously and asked the most probing questions about the depths of their core subjects. However, when it comes to deciding their pay scale, they are asked to work on a paltry salary of five to six thousand rupees. These are some of our most highly qualified youngsters who, due to the paucity of respectable government jobs, are willing to work as teachers on such a low salary.
It is not that the private schools are not earning enough. It is just that the owners of these private school teachers see school as a profit-making industry and teachers as cheap labor. These owners ensure that the qualified teachers receive as less a salary as possible. There is always a hire and fire policy in place. Any teacher who asks for a salary hike is shown the door. All this exploitation is happening right under the nose of the authorities. Even though the authorities have released pay brackets or labs which the private schools have to abide by. However, the owners of these schools are hardcore capitalists who know how to play around this arithmetic and continue to exploit these private school teachers day in and day out.
These private school teachers cannot even complain to anyone. They fear losing their job. The government must set up a helpline number for these teachers so that they can convey their grievance without even being identified. Teachers, whether working in the capacity of a government teacher or a private school teacher, are indeed the pillars of our society. It is our foremost duty to ensure that they are paid off well.
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