For more than five years, Aleena Benny, a 29-year-old temporary teacher, taught students at a church-run, government-aided school in Kozhikode without salary. This was despite her family allegedly ‘donating’ ₹23 lakh to the Thalassery diocese. On Wednesday, Aleena was found dead at her residence. The police said she took her own life and registered a case under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita’s Section 194, which lays down the protocol for investigating deaths.
Aleena’s case has exposed the tragic plight of around 15,000 teachers in the state who have been working for years in various aided institutions without getting salary. Her father alleges that when the school management took the money, they promised a permanent job for her. The diocese has denied taking any money from the family and has passed the blame to the government for the delay in paying her salary. The management argued that they had filed her application with the education department on time and that technical issues over appointing persons with disabilities was the reason for the inordinate delay.
The tragic death has instigated a debate on the revenue model of government-aided institutions, which came into existence when the state promised free education for all in the Kerala Education Act 1958. With it, the government shouldered the responsibility of paying the state-aided school staff. As of now, there are 7,277 such schools in Kerala. The authority to appoint teachers lies exclusively with the school management; the government only pays the salaries. Though such institutions have played a crucial role in ensuring free education to a large number of kids, many believe it’s time to revisit their role. As the employees are recruited by private organisations that often take money, the rationale of the government paying their salaries is controversial. A panel headed by former chief secretary K M Abraham had stated that the salary burden in educational institutions was punching a hole in the state’s purse. But successive governments have been dragging their feet over it because these schools are run by influential communities. It’s high time the government took over the right to appoint teachers in the institutions funded by them. To curb corruption, the right should be handed over to the state public service commission. The tragedy that happened to Aleena must not be repeated.