An unkind cut

In blatant disregard to the principle of natural justice of protecting the last drawn pay, Punjab has offered to regularise the services of thousands of contractual schoolteachers by offering them only the basic pay for three years. In effect, this means that for the regularisation of their contractual jobs, 8,886 teachers would have to suffer a steep pay cut of nearly 75 per cent for three years. Numerically speaking, a teacher who has been today drawing around Rs 42,800 per month would now have to make do with the basic pay of Rs 15,000 per month and only after three years would s/he be eligible for the full scale pay of Rs 45,000. It amounts to nothing but mocking at and financially choking the beleaguered class of the SSA/RMSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan/ Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan) teachers, along with those hired for Model and Adarsh schools since 2008. Indeed, their career has been fraught with an uphill struggle. Having started at Rs 13,500, they have been fighting for pay hikes and permanency of their employment even as they toiled to teach children. The government raised their salary to Rs 16,500 in 2011, and by now, it had gone up to nearly Rs 42,800. 

Over these 10 years, most of them have got married and have families to feed, children to bring up and parents to look after. Some would be well into their forties, with the normal load of loans and familial responsibilities. The government expecting them to survive on the pittance of Rs 10,500 is grossly unfair and reeks of apathy for these educated professionals.

The cash-strapped state needs to find a way around this regressive decision. It is imperative as at stake is the building of the foundation of schoolchildren. Lessons learnt in the initial stage go a long way in shaping the youth and, in turn, securing a bright future. An underpaid teacher is hardly likely to be motivated or enthused enough to put in her/his best. The educators deserve the due remuneration — in consonance with the tall task of educating young children that is entrusted to them.