Last Updated Oct - 10 - 2023, 09:00 PM | Source : HT | Visitors : 32
Special education teachers in Maharashtra are on an indefinite hunger strike demanding permanent appointments after facing years of contractual roles.
The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), an apex government body established to regulate training programmes and courses targeted at disabled and disadvantaged communities, certifies special education teachers. Beginning on October 2, these teachers are on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan to demand the provision of permanent appointments and to assert their rightful place in the educational system.
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Since 2012, Maharashtra's educational system has demoted 1,775 teachers who were qualified to educate students with special needs to contractual functions.
The Right to Education (RTE) Act, which emphasises every child's right to education, is the foundation of the hunger strike's inclusiveness principles. The central government has ordered state governments to assign teachers specifically for children with special needs within schools operated under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) as part of inclusive education standards.
One of the teachers fasting at Azad Maidan is Santosh Chamalwad, a dedicated special educator and treasurer of the Divyang Kalyan Special Teachers Association (DKSTA) from the Satara district. He said, “These contract-based teachers have endured seven long years without a single rupee increase in their salaries. Despite their critical role in shaping the future of special needs children, their salaries have been reduced by ₹1,500 by the Maharashtra Primary Education Council (MPEC) in 2017, leaving them with a meagre ₹20,000.”
The government is required to provide one instructor for every ten students by regulation. "These appointments are intended for government-clustered schools in cities and villages where such children are enrolled, not merely for schools catering exclusively to children with special needs. After being appointed, we are given clusters of schools to visit each day, according to another Chamalwad.
A teacher from Ulhasnagar highlighted the worrying issue of non-compliance with the government's mandated student-teacher ratios. “In Ulhasnagar, where 1,126 children are registered as having special needs, only four teachers have been appointed for this cluster. How are we expected to commute between schools and provide assistance to these students?”
DKSTA had earlier filed a public interest litigation (PIL) at the Supreme Court, recognising the national importance of this subject. In July 2022, the court delivered a favourable decision in the teacher's favour.
Sartaj Pathan, another dedicated teacher, questioned, “Following this landmark judgement, several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and West Bengal, have embarked on the path of permanent appointments for these educators. Why is a progressive state like Maharashtra lagging behind in recognising their contributions?”
Officials from MPEC declined to comment. In the meantime, MPEC made it clear in a letter delivered to the DKSTA that they are not in charge of their appointment. The state department of education has the authority to appoint these teachers. They have a planned appointment with the school's education department for October 10th, according to Chamalwad.
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