MADURAI: Makkal Kalvi Kootiyakkam (A movement for people's education) passed various resolutions and urged the state government to implement 'equal pay for equal work' for temporary teachers working in self-financing, government-aided, and government schools and colleges across the state, during their first state-level conference held at Krishnaiyar community hall on Sunday.
Government College Teachers Mandram General Secretary M Sivaraman welcomed the gathering. State Coordinator R Murali spoke about the significance of the conference. He alleged that teachers working in self-financed educational institutions have been subjected to labour exploitation and are paid very low wages. "This trend is now seen in government and government-aided educational institutions as well. Due to this, the quality of education and the teachers' quality of life have been affected," he pointed out.
Retired High Court Justice D Hari Pranthaman, in his inaugural address, pointed out that self-financing colleges, especially law colleges, have been collecting exorbitant fees from its students. However, no action has been taken against the collection in this regard.
During the conference, members from various organisations and the general public emphasised their demands. Following this, over ten resolutions were passed, including urging the state government to regularise the jobs of temporary teachers, and provide equal pay for equal work rendered. They further urged the state government to amend the Tamil Nadu Private Colleges Act for the welfare of the temporary teachers.