Night school teachers worry as other tutors may take over

The teachers – who have been protesting since last Monday – said these actions will negatively impact the quality of education provided in night schools that cater to students from diverse backgrounds, including adults, who have returned to academics after interruptions due to personal commitments.

Mumbai: The state government’s decision to permit day-school teachers to work part-time in night schools has not gone down well with several teachers from night schools, who gathered at Azad Maidan and expressed concerns about the move. They also voiced against the cut-down of night school hours from three-and-a-half hours to two hours.

For nearly a year, night-school teachers have been voicing their objections following a Government Resolution (GR) issued in June 2022, which introduced these two decisions. They are demanding the reinstatement of an older GR from May 2017, which prohibited day-school teachers from working part-time in night schools. (HT PHOTO)

The teachers – who have been protesting since last Monday – said these actions will negatively impact the quality of education provided in night schools that cater to students from diverse backgrounds, including adults, who have returned to academics after interruptions due to personal commitments.

Niranjan Giri, member of Shikshak Parishad, a teacher’s union said, “Day-school teachers would likely be fatigued from their regular jobs and might not be able to teach with the same dedication. In contrast, night school students require more support, given their backgrounds.”

The commissioner of school education was unavailable for comment.

Another teacher at the protest highlighted that reducing the daily timings of night schools was solely for the convenience of day-school teachers, whereas students in night schools could benefit from additional study time, which was previously set at three-and-a-half hours per day.

For nearly a year, night-school teachers have been voicing their objections following a Government Resolution (GR) issued in June 2022, which introduced these two decisions. They are demanding the reinstatement of an older GR from May 2017, which prohibited day-school teachers from working part-time in night schools.

Santosh Dhawade, principal of a Mumbai BEST school, said, “Last year in August, a similar protest took place after the initial GR was issued. Following the protest and a court case filed by a night school teacher in the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court, the original GR from June 2022 was temporarily halted.”

Therefore, night schools in Maharashtra continued to operate based on the older GR from 2017.

In December last year, a committee was established to revise the night-school policy, with representation from all stakeholders, Manali Patankar, principal of a night school said, adding, “However, there has been no progress from the committee thus far. Last month, a new GR was issued, lifting the stay on the June GR and permitting day-school teachers to work part-time in night schools, reigniting the protests.”

Maharashtra currently has a total of 165-night schools, serving approximately 24,000 students. Mumbai has the highest number of night schools at 120, followed by Nagpur (11), while the remaining schools are spread across different districts in smaller numbers. In Mumbai, there are 370-night school teachers.