Tamil Nadu: Sharp Pay Cuts Force Teachers To Take Daily Wage Work Amid Covid Lockdown

The Tamil Nadu Matriculation School Teachers' Association has come forward asking financial assistance from the TN government on behalf of lakhs of private schools teachers who are forced to live in a pity condition due to unemployment and insufficient salary.

Mayiladuthurai: In 15,000 private matriculation schools, teachers and staff are being paid half of their salaries curtailing the physical attendance of school employees to 50 per cent. As a result, teachers are forced to take up work on daily wages to save their families go hungry, said Muralitharan, the Tamil Nadu Matriculation School Teachers' Association Coordinator.

The Teachers' Association has demanded that the Tamil Nadu government should provide the corona relief funds to matriculation school teachers who have lost their livelihoods due to the closure of schools.

The Association counseling meeting was held at Mayiladuthurai. The meeting discussed the urging of the Tamil Nadu government to assist the teachers who have lost their jobs due to the closure of schools.

Speaking to reporters, Muralitharan, said, “The Tamil Nadu government has closed all schools since March 2020 due to the corona epidemic. In 15 thousand private matriculation schools, teachers and officers were paid half of the salary, reducing staff strength to 50 per cent. Thus the teachers are going for daily wages to provide food to their families.

Following this, the lives of teachers who scored 98% in 10th and 12th classes, have drastically changed. The last AIADMK government did not care about private matriculation school teachers. Many private school teachers have lost their jobs and have no way to support their families as schools have been closed this year by the second wave of coronavirus impact. A private school teacher in Cuddalore has committed suicide after failing to pay home rent.

The Tamil Nadu Matriculation School Teachers' Association has demanded that the Tamil Nadu government provide corona relief funds to the teachers who have lost their livelihoods due to the closure of schools.

Several lakh teachers are working in 15 thousand private schools in Tamil Nadu. They have been living in poverty for a year without salary, private school teachers should be paid half of their salary or the government should provide them minimum financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to live a decent life. The working-age limit that the AIADMK government reduced from 57 to 40 should be repealed and should bring it back to 57. One lakh people are working in private schools. They should be recruited in vacant government schools,” he said.

 

He further said, “Action should be taken against those involved in irregularities in the selection of civil servants and TET in the AIADMK regime and that a petition should be sent to the Chief Minister and the Minister of Education and officials regarding the demand and if the Tamil Nadu government fails to fulfill our legitimate demands, we will engage in a series of struggles,’’ he emphasized.