Sisodia directs education dept to increase guest teachers’ pay, protests to continue

In his letter to the Directorate, Sisodia stated that his meeting with a delegation from a government schools’ guest teachers’ group, Dilli Atithi Shikshak Sangh, on Wednesday prompted him to issue the direction.

“The major request of guest teachers, as mentioned in their representation, is regarding revision of remuneration. I agree with them since the increase in the cost of living, compounded by economic hardship in many families due to Covid, necessitates upward revision in remunerations. Therefore, it is directed that the Directorate of Education should increase the remuneration of guest and contract teachers,” read the letter.

The delegation on Wednesday had held a press conference at the Delhi Secretariat after the meeting, denouncing the recent protests by guest teachers as “political” and listing out how the government’s policies had benefited them.

This comes two weeks after hundreds of guest teachers held a protest near the Chief Minister’s residence, once again demanding a policy that will let them work till the age of retirement. Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu had joined the protest, in response to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal joining a Punjab guest teachers’ protest in Mohali. Another protest is scheduled to take place outside Sisodia’s residence on Saturday.

The All-India Guest Teachers’ Association, which has been leading these protests, said it will proceed with Saturday’s protest and emphasise the demand for regularisation or a policy that will allow them to continue working till the age of 60.

Guest teachers at Delhi government schools are paid per day of work and their last pay revision was in 2017. Currently, a postgraduate teacher earns Rs 1,345 per day, a trained graduate teacher earns Rs 1,403 per day, and a primary teacher makes Rs 1,364 per day.