NISAR MALIK
Despite of holding master’s degree in different fields, today youth are compelled to work in the Private schools as simple teachers because of growing unemployment in J&K state. Private schools have proved their quality of education and ambience much superior to government schools. Besides of depositing huge amount to get admission, parents of contemporary generation opt to educate their wards in private institutions.
It has been observed that private school teachers look towards their job as vocation not as a career. Private school teachers work indefatigably to nourish their students with good quality of education. So that they can survive in this age of competition.
The private school teachers also have some pros and cons. Sometimes they have to attend school even on Sunday by the order of the head of school. They can’t even utter a word, if they challenges they can lose their job. Unlike, a Government school teacher who acquires handsome salary have to teach just three to four classes a day while as a private school teacher has to teach 7 to 8 classes consistently where in response they get meager salary.
The valley hosts 2047 private schools where more than 3.5 lakh students are studying. Although there are no exact figures of private school teachers, so experts suggest that they run in four figures. The teachers are woefully under paid and if this is not enough the teachers stated that they are “hired and fired” like laborers by school management.
Besides lack of decent salary private school teachers do not get other benefits which are otherwise entitled to them. They get salary of 2000 to 3000 per month which is very less in this materialistic world.
“Students studying in private schools pay 300 to 700 per month as fee but to our surprise teacher’s salary is just 3000 per month,” said Ghulam Mohmmad Mir, parent of school teacher, Baramulla.
“Private school is wonderful place for preparing students in this age of materialistic race and it is because of teachers working in private schools,” he added.
There are private schools up to higher secondary level with mostly science streams. They usually pay Rs. 7000 to Rs.10, 000 per month to the teacher who teaches 10+2 standard, but they get this money for only 8 months of working and are not given salary during winter vacation months that deeply hurts them. “There are M.Sc., M.A and M.Phil degree holders who are working in these schools. But there is no respect for them and they have to work under school owners as subordinates. Private school teachers are also subjected to kind of barrage of abuse”, said Mudasir Malik, ex-private school teacher.
Another teacher, Latif Ahmad currently working in higher education department said that two years before when I was working in private school I faced a lot of challenges. Being a headmaster of school I worked as subordinate for long time. There seems no respect for private teachers, which creates impediments in our personal lives.
He also said that I joined with post-graduation degree and was supposed to teach even nursery class students which hurt one emotionally.
Another colleague, Jehangir currently working as physical teacher in private school added his voice and said that I faced a lot of challenges like reporting early in school premises and delivering lectures in back to back classes. Our experience of teaching is not counted in our appetite of seeking Government jobs.
The realities state that private school teachers are not getting worthy salary in spite of their hard work. The facets urge that Government should make proper policy that may come to rescue of private teachers.