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It’s going to be a ‘colourless’ Holi for 1.39 lakh shikshamitras
Asst teachers hired under the sarva shiksha abhiyan in the state have not received honorariums since Jan
Asst teachers hired under the sarva shiksha abhiyan in the state have not received honorariums since Jan
PRAYAGRAJ: It will be a ‘colourless’ Holi for 1.39 lakh shikshamitras working in government-run primary schools of the state and their family members, as they have not received their honorariums for the past two months. There are just five days to go before ‘Holika Dhahan’ (March 9).
Officials blame the state government for not releasing the budget to pay honorariums.
Appointed under the ambitious Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the shikshamitras – forming a vital part of the education mission in government primary schools of the state – suffered a huge set back on July 25, 2017, when their regularisation on vacant posts of assistant teachers was quashed by the Supreme Court, which upheld an earlier order of the Allahabad High court delivered in this regard.
Virtually overnight, their monthly earnings came down to mere Rs 10,000, almost one fourth of what we had started to earn as assistant teachers, the shikshamitras rued.
As per norms, the honorarium should get credited to the bank accounts of these shikshamitras by 7th of each month. To make this possible, attendance of up to 20th of each month is sent to the office of the basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) concerned by respective office of the block education officers, said Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshamitra Sangh secretary Kaushal Kumar Singh.
He said that with just a few days left for the festival, these shikshamitras claim that chances of their getting honorariums are bleak at best.
“Even if the budget is released by the state government and made available to the districts immediately, the process involves the pay bills being sent to banks concerned and they being posted on computers before the money actually reaches the accounts of the shikshamitras. This year, the banks themselves will be closed on March 9 (Monday) and March 10 owing to the festival, virtually giving the government just three working days starting Thursday for ensuring honorariums to shikshamitras before the festival,” he said.
Out of 1.62 lakh shikshamitras working in basic schools, 1.39 have been hired under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) while the remaining 23,000 have been hired by the state Basic Education Department directly. “All shikshamitras hired under the SSA have not received their honorariums since January 2020,” Singh added.
Prayagraj BSA Sanjay Kumar Kushwaha conceded that the honorariums of the shikskamitras of the district could not be paid owing to delay in release of budget. “We have completed all formalities from our side. We will ensure disbursement of honorariums at the earliest as soon as the budget is received,” he maintained.
