Teachers seek govt. grant to all special schools in State for pay parity

Karnataka State Special Teachers and Non-teaching Staff Association said connected Saturday that it volition signifier a dharna astatine Freedom Park successful Bengaluru connected Wednesday, seeking grant-in-aid to each 180 peculiar schools successful the State for wage parity among peculiar schoolhouse teachers.

Addressing property persons successful Udupi, State president of the relation Kanthi Harish said that nether Child-Centric (CC) scheme, the grant-in-aid paid to peculiar schools is meagre and managements of the schools are incapable to wage capable wage to teachers. The 1982 Grant-in-Aid Code successful the State provides amended fiscal assistance and the aforesaid should beryllium applied to each peculiar schools successful the State. Currently, lone 32 schools successful the State person obtained the 1982 assistance successful assistance code, she said.

Hence, teachers astatine peculiar schools are upset implicit the favoritism successful the wage being paid to them erstwhile compared to regular schoolhouse teachers, she said.

Ms. Harish, who is besides the laminitis of Vijetha Residential Special School, Karkala, said that teachers astatine peculiar schools person respective obligations including obtaining Continuing Rehabilitation Education (CRE) credits arsenic mandated by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). For each 7 years, 100 CRE points person to beryllium earned by the teachers for which they person to acquisition grooming sessions. Wading done each challenge, teachers astatine peculiar schools are moving with a work mindset. But they excessively request to beryllium compensated by ensuring wage parity.

Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U. T. Khader chaired 2 meetings to sermon the matter, aft which the Director of the Department for the Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens had sent a connection to State authorities to summation the assistance magnitude to peculiar schools by 40%. But it has not yet go a reality, she said.

The assistance to peculiar schools should beryllium released successful 2 instalments, successful June and October. Then, managements of peculiar schools volition not look the fiscal load to wage the salaries of staff, she said.

The relation has been demanding for wage parity of teachers and non-teaching unit successful peculiar schools since 2007 but to nary avail, she said.