[Delhi] Civic bodies terminate 1,000 teachers’ contracts

In India, the South and North Delhi municipal corporations have made the decision to not renew the contracts of over 1,000 teachers leaving many jobless, including those who helped with distributing rations during the pandemic, Indian Express reports.

The South MCD terminated the contract of 421 teachers while the North MCD removed 667 teachers. The East MCD has not removed any of its contract teachers.

Standing committee member and Congress councillor Suresh Kumar raised the issue in a meeting on September 28, saying it was inhuman that the civic body had deserted the teachers during a crisis. “They have been working for over ten years, where will they go now? Most can’t go and seek fresh jobs because of the age constraint.”

Anil Shokeen - a teacher employed in Lajpat Nagar - said, “We even distributed ration during COVID, risking our lives. Our contract used to get renewed in June, but it has not been renewed this year as well as last year.”

Standing committee chairperson of the South MCD, B K Oberoi, said that the civic body had hired over 150 permanent teachers recently, “The finances of the corporation don’t allow it to pay for contract teachers as the Delhi government is not paying MCD its dues,” he said.

The East MCD has retained its teachers and is paying them under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

The issue has also led to an exchange of political blows, with AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj saying it was shocking that on September 7, 2020, North MCD’s Education Department Headquarters wrote a letter to the Delhi Government suggesting that they were firing their primary school teachers because schools were shut during the pandemic and no physical classes were being conducted. “The teachers are not even able to get ration for themselves because their salaries have not been paid by the MCD,” he said.

BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said these were contractual teachers whose salary is Rs 35,420 per month, which is paid under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan; the Indian Government's flagship programme for the achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a timely manner. The annual salary bill of these 667 contractual teachers is Rs 23.62 crore, out of which 25 per cent is paid by the Centre while 75 per cent is to be paid by the Delhi government.

The Delhi government stopped paying the salary of these contractual teachers in May 2020 after which North MCD had no option but to suspend their contracts, the spokesperson said. Despite suspending them, North MCD has been writing to the Delhi government to pay their salaries so they can be reinstated, but doing so in vain, he added.

Source: Indian Express

(Quotes and link via original reporting)

In India, the South and North Delhi municipal corporations have made the decision to not renew the contracts of over 1,000 teachers leaving many jobless, including those who helped with distributing rations during the pandemic, Indian Express reports.

The South MCD terminated the contract of 421 teachers while the North MCD removed 667 teachers. The East MCD has not removed any of its contract teachers.

Standing committee member and Congress councillor Suresh Kumar raised the issue in a meeting on September 28, saying it was inhuman that the civic body had deserted the teachers during a crisis. “They have been working for over ten years, where will they go now? Most can’t go and seek fresh jobs because of the age constraint.”

Anil Shokeen - a teacher employed in Lajpat Nagar - said, “We even distributed ration during COVID, risking our lives. Our contract used to get renewed in June, but it has not been renewed this year as well as last year.”

Standing committee chairperson of the South MCD, B K Oberoi, said that the civic body had hired over 150 permanent teachers recently, “The finances of the corporation don’t allow it to pay for contract teachers as the Delhi government is not paying MCD its dues,” he said.

The East MCD has retained its teachers and is paying them under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

The issue has also led to an exchange of political blows, with AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj saying it was shocking that on September 7, 2020, North MCD’s Education Department Headquarters wrote a letter to the Delhi Government suggesting that they were firing their primary school teachers because schools were shut during the pandemic and no physical classes were being conducted. “The teachers are not even able to get ration for themselves because their salaries have not been paid by the MCD,” he said.

BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said these were contractual teachers whose salary is Rs 35,420 per month, which is paid under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan; the Indian Government's flagship programme for the achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a timely manner. The annual salary bill of these 667 contractual teachers is Rs 23.62 crore, out of which 25 per cent is paid by the Centre while 75 per cent is to be paid by the Delhi government.

The Delhi government stopped paying the salary of these contractual teachers in May 2020 after which North MCD had no option but to suspend their contracts, the spokesperson said. Despite suspending them, North MCD has been writing to the Delhi government to pay their salaries so they can be reinstated, but doing so in vain, he added.

Source: Indian Express

(Quotes and link via original reporting)