Unviable relief for private school teachers in dire straits
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: June 189, 2021 -

MISERLY salaried teachers and staff members of private schools are certain to heave a sigh of relief following the notification issued by the Directorate of Education for collection of 50 per cent of monthly fees and payment of 75 per cent of their payable salary.

With government-aided schools in the state far less than the number of privately run educational institutions, teaching and non-teaching staffers of the latter would now be hoping that the government order is implemented in letter and spirit for they are among the worst-affected section of the society as a consequences of cessation of normal chores induced by the outbreak of the pandemic.

Among others, job insecurity and pitiable payment have been the core issues which private school teachers have been enduring regardless of the fact that educational institutions run by private parties have been producing quality students for the past many decades.

As per the notification issued by Education director L Nandakumar Singh, all private and government aided schools should follow the guidelines effective from May 1 until further orders or the prevailing Covid-19 protocols are lifted completely.

It also specified that in the interest of the teaching community during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, if any parent wishes to pay more than the prescribed 50 per cent ofthe monthly fees, the Department has no objection to such eventuality and consequent increase in the salary of the teachers/staff and that online class shall be continued till issuance of new guidelines by the state and central government.

There is no doubt that objective of the notification is to lessen the huge financial burden besetting teachers of private schools after the onset of second wave of the pandemic brought to a grinding halt the conventional teaching and learning process since late March.

It is also worth noting that compared to a handful of reputed of private schools which tasted fair success in the enrolment rate of students during the initial stages ofthe second wave based on the condition that online classes would be made accessible only to those who have completed the admission process, majority of the non-governmental schools had below-par admission record owing to either financial issues of the parents or over apprehension that the pandemic wouldn't allow resumption of normal classes for a protracted period.

The problem is more pathetic for schools in the rural areas where conduct of online classes is out of the context as the financially unsound families can't afford to provide communication devices to their kids.

Thus, such precarious conditions would be the main stumbling block to the judicious implementation of the government notification on collection of fees and disbursement of salaries.

With private school runners not known for their benevolence, it could be safely stated that the government order would be akin to rubbing salt into the wound of the already distressed teacher community unless the establishment comes up with a policy to bail out the thousands of private schools which practically depend on receipts from admission and monthly fees from the students for everything.