HYDERABAD: Teachers and students of private schools are up in arms against the managements for slashing salaries by half and increasing the fee anywhere between 30 per cent and 40 per cent in the name of various charges.
School managements are said to be adamant that they would hike salaries only if the government agrees to increase fee by 30 to 40 per cent. Right now, the schools are charging extra under various head, including for fuel, while leaving the fee untouched.
“Teachers are demanding more money. School maintenance costs have gone up since the outbreak of Covid. So we need to increase fees and a 10 per cent hike is just not acceptable. We also have to pay the property tax,” said the principal of an international school in the city.
Several teachers working in private schools said their managements had been collecting funds and donations for the upcoming academic year. “Despite collecting so much money, even during online classes, we were just paid 50 per cent of our salary, and are still waiting for our pending payments,” said a teacher from a well-known private school. She said the pressure they were going through with such minimal pay was quite frustrating.
The teachers who raise their voices are allegedly asked to leave the job as there were hundreds of others waiting for a vacancy. They said they could not speak about the injustice fearing loss of jobs.
State president of Telangana Private Teachers’ Forum, Sheik Shabbir Ali, said the schools were collecting the money which was decreased during the Covid, but were yet to pay the full salary to the teachers.
Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) is also against the 10 per cent fee hike and insists there should not be any hike in the first place. “Education is not a business. The government can control these illegal activities but is turning a blind eye and teachers and parents are the ones getting affected. Teachers are treated worse than bonded labourers,” it said.
