Page 20 - Education World November 2022

Education News

ta c h a ry y a , secretary of the Students’ tary education (classes I-VIII) “shall
Federation of India. be held back in any class or expelled
Aspirant teachers are especially from school till the completion of el-
bitter about the recruitment stalemate ementary education”.
because after Sixth Pay Commission Evidently well-intentioned liber-
prescribed salaries became payable in als who had drafted the progressive
January 2020, the basic monthly sal- RTE Act didn’t factor in widespread
ary of primary teachers in Bengal has corruption that’s pervasive in Indian
risen to Rs.28,900. Additionally, they education.
are entitled to 12 percent house rent Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)
and medical allowance. Government
employees (including teachers) in the KARNATAKA
state are also entitled to dearness al-
lowance of 3 percent. All this adds up Deep-rooted rot
to a starting salary of Rs.33,000 per
month for primary teachers in govern- NDIA’S MOST WELL-ADMINISTERED state
ment schools. In West Bengal where until the historic liberalisation
youth unemployment (7.6 percent) is Iand deregulation of the Indian
pervasive and small and medium scale economy in 1991 transformed its
industry salaries are rock-bottom, the sleepy administrative capital of
remuneration of government school Bangalore (renamed Bengaluru in
teachers is enviable. 2014) into the country’s Silicon Val-
ow with the TET scheduled for De- ley and a bustling commercial metro, schools, RTE fees reimbursement,
Ncember challenged in the courts, Karnataka (pop.68 million) has and other routine administrative
the possibility of it being stayed will experienced accelerated descent into functions.
again stall recruitment to fill 80,000 pervasive corruption and misgover- The latest corruption scandal to
teachers’ posts in the state’s govern- nance. Since last November, when hit media headlines in Karnataka is a
ment schools. Meanwhile the teacher- the Karnataka State Road Contrac- teacher recruitment scam. On Octo-
pupil ratio in government schools has tors’ Association (KSRCA) wrote ber 19, the state’s Criminal Investi-
risen to 1:59 cf. 1:35 prescribed by directly to prime minister Narendra gation Department (CID) arrested
the RTE Act. Inevitably, the biggest Modi complaining that elected rep- 37 government school teachers
losers of this prolonged stalemate in resentatives of the BJP-ruled state who were illegally appointed eight
the teacher recruitment process are government are routinely extort- years ago, following a police com-
the state’s 23 million children from ing commissions of 40 percent for plaint filed in August this year and
EWS (economically weaker section) award of civic maintenance and road a detailed inquiry report submitted
households obliged to attend govern- construction contracts, a spate of by the education ministry. Earlier in
ment schools. According to the A n- corruption scandals have been outed. September, the CID had arrested 22
nual S tatus of Education R eport of In February this year, a major po- people including top education de-
the Pratham Education Foundation, lice personnel recruitment scam was partment officials — Maade Gowda,
the percentage of class VII children in unearthed when it was discovered managing director of the Karnataka
state government schools who cannot that 545 unqualified police sub-in- Textbook Society, Geetha, director
read and comprehend class III text- spectors (PSIs) were appointed after of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, and
books has risen from 23.7 percent in having paid bribes of Rs.70-80 lakh three joint directors of education for
2014 to 31.7 percent in 2021. to police top brass and government involvement in this scandal. These
With teacher appointments at a ministers. Subsequently in August, “illegal” appointments date back to
standstill because the judiciary has RUPSA (Registered Unaided Private 2014-15 when the Congress govern-
no option but to stay the recruitment Schools Association), which has ment was in power.
and induction of teachers with suspect 13,000 member schools, again wrote With government school teachers
credentials, the number of students in a letter directly to the prime minister accorded pay parity with government
upper primaries who can’t read and/ alleging that the BJP government employees who are awarded massive
or comprehend primary texts and nu- and education minister B.C. Nagesh salary rises by Central government
meracy is certain to increase. Under in particular, are extorting massive Pay Commissions, remuneration
s.16 of the ‘progressive’ Right of Chil- bribes for renewal of school recogni- packages of government school
dren to Free & Compulsory Education tion licences, issuing no-objection teachers are 8-10x of private school
(RTE) Act, 2009, no child in elemen- certificates to new CBSE and CISCE teachers. Consequently, millions of

20 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2022