VIJAYAWADA: Several students from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have excelled on several national and international platforms. A few KGBV students presented a paper at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). The Contract Resident Teachers (CRT) working in KGBVs are playing a key role in the development of skills of girl students.
Now, the CRTS are worried as their services are not regularised as promised and they are not getting the Minimum Time Scale (MTS). The School Education department has directed officials on March 13, 2022, to take action on the GO MS 5 issued by the Finance department for giving Minimum of Time Scale (MTS) under Revised Pay Scales, 2022, to the contract employees working in the government departments, universities, societies, KGBVs and model schools. However, except KGBV teachers, all other contract employees were given MTS under the revised pay scales.
As many as 2,600 CRTs are working in 352 KGBVs. Of the total teachers, 90 percent of them have PG, 50 percent of them have MEd and several have MPhil and PhD. All of them have been working in the KGBVs since August 2005, when the schools were started in the State.
Speaking to TNIE, SBTS Devi, KGBV Teachers Union (KGBVTU) State president said that they met Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on July 1, 2019, and he assured them of regularisation of their services and extending MTS to them.
On January 17, 2022, the Chief Minister said the government has implemented the MTS to all contract employees, including KGBV teachers. Though the finance department issued GOs — MS numbers 24, 40 and 5 — and the School Education department directed the officials on March 13 to take action to implement the MTS with effect from January 1, 2022, the CRTS in KGBVs didn’t receive the Minimum Time Scale.
She appealed to the Chief Minister to intervene in the issue and direct the officials to provide MTS facilities to them also. M Malini Devi, State general secretary KGBVTA, said that all of them were appointed through the District Selection Committee 18 years ago on a contract basis following a notification, written test and a roster system and they didn’t understand the cause of the delay in implementing the MTS for them. She said that they met Advisor to the government (Public Affairs) Sajjala Rama Krishna Reddy recently raising the issue. N Anjali Devi, treasurer of KGBVTA, said that they are seeking posting as Junior Lecturers (PGTs) for the qualified CRTs in the KGBV Junior Colleges like School Assistants(SAs) working in the high schools were appointed as Junior Lecturers in the recently established and upgraded junior colleges.
R Varalakshmi, co-president of KGBVTA, said that they are doing the same duties performed by teachers in society schools and residential schools, but they are getting less salaries, disregarding the ‘equal wage for equal work ’ principle. All of them are getting only `21,000 honorarium.
The government should appoint CRTs as junior lecturers instead of appointing new JLs in the colleges formed by upgrading KGBVs, they demanded. M Kumari, a KGBVTA member, appealed to the government to provide government schemes including health cards and fee reimbursement for their children and women’s special casual leaves for them.
OTHER DEMANDS: REGULARISATION, HEALTH CARDS
The CRTS have been demanding regularisation of their services. The government should appoint CRTs as junior lecturers in the upgraded KGBVs. They also demanded other schemes including health cards and fee reimbursement for their children.