Gurugram guest teachers seek regularisation of services

The bill provides guest teachers with a status similar to that of the regularly appointed teachers. Among its provision, the bill includes 58 years of service for these teachers and increments twice a year.

Guest teachers in Gurugram have expressed their reservations with the Haryana Guest Teachers Service Bill 2019, which was passed on Wednesday. The teachers said that the bill was passed to pacify protesting teachers but was not a permanent solution to their request for regularisation of services.

Guest teachers in Gurugram have expressed their reservations with the Haryana Guest Teachers Service Bill 2019, which was passed on Wednesday. 9. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

The bill provides guest teachers with a status similar to that of the regularly appointed teachers. Among its provision, the bill includes 58 years of service for these teachers and increments twice a year. Guest teachers, however, said that while the bill provided a safety net, it did not meet their long-standing demand of regularisation.

“The wage of guest teachers will never be at par with that of regular teachers. The bill provides a safety net, but our demand of implementing a common work, common pay policy has not been met. The government simply passed a wishy-washy bill thinking that it would help them counter our criticism and protests,” said Vijaypal Shastri, president of guest teachers’ association, Gurugram.

Shastri said that many important aspects of the bill were riddled with discrepancies. “The bill could essentially mean that guest teachers will not be made regular for the next 58 years. The bill should have had clearly spelt out information on regularisation but it doesn’t. Successive governments will use the bill as an excuse in future,” he added.

Satyanarayan Yadav, vice-president of Haryana School Teachers’ Association, said that the bill was a relief but it had not accommodated the primary concern regarding regularisation.

“Instead of passing a bill like this, the government should create a policy that regularises the employment of guest teachers. With the current state of affairs, they will get a minimum wage and their incomes will not be comparable with that of regular teachers. The only benefit that the bill gives is that guest teachers will be able to work for 58 years,” said Yadav.

There are more than 13,000 guest teachers in the state, out of which around 700 are in the district. The guest teachers said that they’d not be receiving many benefits that regular teachers receive. Shastri, from the guest teachers’ association, said that guest teachers would wait for the education department to issue a notification and bring clarity on the subject.