Primary school teachers demand hike in salary

Primary teachers of aided and unaided private schools met on Wednesday to voice their grievances regarding inadequate salaries.

Primary teachers of aided and unaided private schools met on Wednesday to voice their grievances regarding inadequate salaries.

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The Parent-Teacher Association United Forum, an NGO, plans to present the teachers’ case to the chief minister and stage protests, if necessary.

The 30 primary teachers, who represented the 12,000 teachers in the state, complained that they are yet to receive salaries in accordance to the Sixth Pay Commission.

Teachers in aided primary schools come under the purview of the municipal corporation and are paid Rs 13,000 per month. They claimed that their counterparts in civic schools are paid double the amount.

Vijaya Sharma, who teaches at Utkarsha Mandir in Malad, said: “How long can we suffer this injustice?”

Primary teachers of private, unaided schools too voiced their complaints. “As primary teachers, we are not given our due, the management keeps dodging the issue,” said Thelma Dias, a primary teacher at Holy Name School, Colaba. Dias is the sole earning member in her family.

“If teachers are not paid properly then what will happen to education? We need to fight for them,” said Arundhati Chavan, president of the Forum.