The higher secondary teachers appointed in the unaided sector last year are still waiting for their salary and other benefits, thanks to the inordinate delay in giving approval for the posts.
They were appointed in order to fill the vacancies created as the government had increased the divisions at the higher secondary level in 2011-12 academic year.
There are around 1,500 teachers in the state who are waiting for the approval of the post. Moreover, most of them have joined the service in higher secondary schools after giving huge amounts as donation to the respective managements.
They are now trapped without salary and not been able to join other professions. The UDF government has allocated extra batches in around 550 schools in the state, in which, most of them are in Malappuram district.
The decision was taken under the 100-day programme of the state government. Earlier, it was decided to give the teachers daily wages but it is also not materialised.
“Government should have created vacancies before allocating new batches to higher secondary schools. Here, the government had first allocated the new batches and then they entrusted the managements to fill the teaching vacancies. But, the new appointments are not yet officially confirmed by the Education Department. So, we are still deprived of salary,” Sharafudeen, a teacher said.
Most of them had given up their earlier jobs in the unaided sector and other fields to join as teachers in aided schools. They are left with no revenue at present. Some of them are married and many of them are the sole bread winners of the family. The huge amounts they had given as donation for the job has put them in serious financial crunch.
They have formed a union, Non Approved Higher Secondary Teachers’ Coordination (NPHSTC), to protest against the unjustice they are facing. NPHSTC is now planning to conduct different kind of agitations to invite the attention of government towards their issue. They are also planning to boycott classes in the coming days.