Govt cautions private schools against cutting teachers’ salaries

Srinagar, April 09: Seemingly waking up to the exploitation of private school teachers, Jammu and Kashmir government has cautioned educational institutions against cutting salaries of the staff on the pretext of lockdown.

“Complaints are pouring in that some private schools pay meager salaries for few months to their teachers. Violate minimum wages. DSEK/private   school associations and parents need to look into this for quality education,” tweeted Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon, Principal Secretary to Government, School Education Department

Director School Education Kashmir, Dr. Younis Malik said they would soon hold a meeting with private schools and discuss the issue in detail.

“We will discuss the pay scale of private school teachers. We will recommend the suitable pay for the teachers”, he said.

An official of DSEK said that they have received several complaints about meager salaries being paid to teaching staff.

“Some private schools even pay Rs 3000 to the teachers holding Masters Degree. This is total exploitation,” he said.

Director Labour Commissioner Abdul Rashid War said the teacher does not fall under the definition of the worker.

 “We have recommended different pay scales for skilled and unskilled workers. The unskilled worker should be paid Rs 6750 monthly, skilled worker Rs. 10,500 monthly, highly skilled worker Rs 12000 monthly and administrative or account staff Rs 9750,” he said.

War said that teachers should be treated above the highly skilled workers and paid well.

President, Private school Association Kashmir, G N Var said teachers come under the category of highly skilled labor. “Salaries of teachers depend on the fee charged from the students. Many schools charge huge fees from the students and pay accordingly to their staff,” he said

Var said that some schools charge small fees from the students and they pay Rs 5000 salary to their teachers.

“The government should help poor schools financially so that teachers are well paid,”, he said.

Principal Secretary School Education, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon did not respond to the calls.