No light in sight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE long and dark struggle of night school teachers across the State refuses to end. After fighting several battles over the past two decades, these teachers are still grappling with red-tapism to get their rightful ‘full-time employee’ status. As if this wasn’t hurting enough, hundreds of Dubar Shikshaks who, according to these part-timers, do not have legal claim on the night school jobs, still retain their appointments in most of the night schools in State. The latest issue at hand is, despite the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, in 2023, staying the 2022 GR and ordering a status quo for a previous (2017) GR, a lot of Dubars have joined their duties, mainly in Mumbai. Adv Anand Parchure, who has been representing the night schoolers in the courts against Dubars, explains that the status quo actually means otherwise. “It means that the Dubars cannot be allowed to teach at night schools along with their full-time day jobs, nor will they be paid extra for the night school jobs.”

 

However, a lot of Dubar teachers in the State, especially the ones in Mumbai schools, are officially working in night schools and taking salaries. “They are also expecting arrears for the six years since 2017, and they have not even worked during most of this period as they were terminated from the jobs,” Adv Parchure tells ‘The Hitavada’, adding that he has brought this to the court’s notice through an affidavit. “The State Government has left the teachers in the lurch,” says former Teachers’ Constituency MLC Nago Ganar, who had been vehemently supporting the cause. “There is a kind of high-handedness going on in the Education Department. Why else is there so much of disparity between what’s happening in Mumbai’s night schools and elsewhere in the State? The status quo orders are being followed in Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, and Nagpur night schools but the Dubars in Mumbai continue to work and even get salaries, which is questionable,” Ganar states.

 

Out of total 167 night schools in the State, 150 are in Mumbai, he adds. Another major point, Ganar says, is these Dubar Shikshaks were terminated after the 2017 GR was issued. And ever since, the matter has been mostly subjudice. “So when did these Dubars get back their appointments? Are authorities in the State HQ issuing orders to local officers to release their salaries? Or, are Dubars working without official appointment letters? Even if they have been issued letters, it’s contempt of court,” he emphasises. In 2017, the Devendra Fadnavis Government took a significant step by issuing a government resolution in the night school teachers’ favour. That GR terminated the services of Dubar Teachers from night schools, and also announced full-time status and benefits to all night school employees. This GR was challenged by the Dubar teachers in High Court and even in the Supreme Court but both courts’ verdicts favoured the 2017 GR. “While this was happening, the State Government was in no hurry to implement the GR, so the night schoolers went to the court again highlighting the “contempt of court”. The intention was to somehow push the Government for the implementation of their full-time salaries,” Headmaster of Jawahar Night School and Junior College Ranjit Wasade alleges.

 

Nitin Kite of MNS Shikshak Sanghatana Nagpur unit explains how the favourable 2017 GR has been conveniently ignored by the Education Ministry for five long years. “The Fadnavis Government, which issued the GR, as well as the Uddhav Thackeray Government in 2019 sidelined the issue of the night schoolers,” Kite says. During a change of guard in Maharashtra in June 2022, hours before the Maha Vikas Aaghadi (MVA) Government’s resignation, a hurriedly-issued GR changed the game. It cancelled the previous GR of 2017 and ordered reinstatement of Dubars in the night schools. “Isn’t it apparent that the Dubars managed to get it in their favour? The previous GR of 2017 kept these Dubars out of the night schools, which also meant they were losing the extra salaries they were getting for this job,” Kite sums up the plight of night teachers.