Mumbai: Retired MBMC tutors run pillar to post for grade parity

Mumbai: “Teachers play a vital role in shaping our lives. Let us honour our teachers for their contribution” this was a line tweeted by none other than our Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Teachers’ Day. It would have been great if the noble thought related to such a noble profession, drill some kind of sense into the minds of bureaucrats.

To expose the insensitivity of the civic babu’s here is an unfortunate story of more than 70 retired teachers in Mira Bhayandar who after contributing their valuable services to teach and groom students in primary schools run by the erstwhile Zilla Parishad which transformed into municipal council schools and finally in the current corporation regime are being denied their right to class up gradation which would enhance their meagre pension and other post-retirement benefits. The teachers, mostly in their mid-60s, some facing serious medical complications, others battling old age-related issues are being made to run from pillar to post for more than five years by the education department officials in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to obtain their justified right. This despite of clear directions from the state government authorities mandating grade parity for primary school teachers who have been in service for 18 consecutive years till 1986.

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Under the aegis of the Retired and Senior Citizens Seva Sanstha, the retired school teachers have been raising the issue by personally meeting officials in the concerned department, but till date they have got only assurances and nothing concrete has materialized yet.

“Our ray of hope is now trained on the newly recently appointed education officer who has assured to take up the matter as a top priority. The entire life we have taught our students to keep patients and never lose hope, let’s wait and see if are teachings were right or we too will have to take the route of agitations to enforce our rightful demands,” said Sampat More.