The 67,000 odd para teachers in Jharkhand are planning another protest against the irregularities in payment of their monthly honorarium. The ad hoc teachers, who claim that several schools in the interiors are depended on them for regular classes and other activities, have not received their honorarium for the month of February, March, May and June this year.
“As it is we have a very low pay structure. At least we expect the Government to ensure regular payment of salary. We are planning another round of protest as we are left with no other option,” said Sanjay Dubey, a para teacher at Hazaribag Basic School in Barhi block.
Dubey, who also happens to be a member of the Jharkhand Ekakrit Para Sikshak Sangh, added that many teachers were sole bread-earners in their family and the delay in disbursement of honorarium was adversely affecting their children’s education and other needs.
The para teachers were initially appointed on honorarium as Shiksha Mitras (teacher friend) under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) to combat the dearth of regular teachers. Many teachers who started at a pay of Rs 1000 a month in 2002 still manage to make less than Rs 10,000 per month. This transition phase, however, has seen a series of protests and strikes leading to crippling of school education in many parts of the tribal hinterland.
The latest in the series of protests by these ad hoc teachers was a strike from November 16, 2018 to January 17, 2019. It reportedly crippled education in many rural schools. While the Government hiked the honorarium paid to para teachers here and promised addition facilities, the teachers were not paid their honorarium for the duration of the protest.
The delay in payment was caused due to irregular disbursement of funds by SSA, officials from the School Education and Literacy Department said. Last year, the SSA approved Rs 1,000 crore and disbursed only Rs 700 crore. The department had to manage the remaining Rs 300 crore from the state exchequer, officials said. Meanwhile, due to elections this year, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is yet to be formed.
The fund to be allocated to Jharkhand under SSA will be finalised only after PAC’s meeting.