Private School Teachers Seek Equal Salary And Pension, Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Response

New Delhi: A hearing was held on Thursday on a PIL filed in the Supreme Court regarding the salary, pension and post-retirement facilities of teachers teaching in private schools. The court has issued notice to the Central Government and all the states and union territories apart from the National Council for Teacher Education i.e. NCTE. The petition demands the creation of a uniform welfare system for private school teachers across the country. The next hearing of the case will be after four weeks.

What kind of arrangement has been demanded for teachers?

The petition has asked the Center to formulate a comprehensive national policy and legal framework for private school teachers. There is a demand to include facilities like pension, provident fund, gratuity, medical aid and insurance in this. Apart from this, a suggestion has also been made to make a separate system to settle the complaints of teachers. The petitioner has also raised the issue of setting up a National Private School Teachers Welfare Board.

Who has raised this matter in the Supreme Court?

This petition has been filed by Ligimol George of Kerala. She is the National Coordinator of All India Teachers Federation. The petition filed through his lawyer Deepak Prakash said that private school teachers are a major part of the country's education system, but there is no single national system for them, which can ensure social security during service and after retirement.

How many teachers can be affected by this system?

The petition has cited data from the Education Ministry's UDISE 2023-24. According to this, there are about 14.72 lakh schools in the country and more than 98 lakh teachers are working. The number of students is said to be around 24.8 crores. Of these, 37,30,047 teachers are working in recognised private unaided schools. The petitioner says that the lack of a uniform system of welfare and social security for such a large number of teachers is a serious issue.

Why are teachers getting different facilities in different states?

The petition states that the service conditions of private school teachers largely depend on the law of the concerned state, the policies of the school management and the terms of appointment. For this reason, teachers doing similar work get different salaries and other facilities at different places. Calling this a major drawback, the petitioner has expressed the need for a uniform system in the entire country.

What problems do teachers face after retirement?

The petition claims that a large number of private school teachers retire without adequate pension, medical facilities or insurance coverage. Especially teachers working in contract, temporary or other non-regular arrangements face more problems regarding future security. It has been said in the petition that even after working in the field of education for a long time, many teachers do not have adequate financial support for their old age.

What will happen next in the Supreme Court?

A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta sought responses from the concerned parties including the Centre, states, union territories and NCTE. The court has posted the case for hearing after four weeks. At present, the Supreme Court has not given any order to implement equal pay or pension. Further hearing will take place after the respective governments and institutions respond to the issues raised in this petition.