Thousands of SSA teachers are going through a never ending ordeal, as they remain without salaries since February 2018. Unfortunately, there seems to be no serious concern from the concerned stakeholders to resolve the issue. The sufferings of these teachers is turning out to be a humanitarian issue, which needs immediate attention as it is never easy to survive today without basic means.
These poor teachers have been without their salary for the last four months and no immediate solution seems visible in the near future. On one hand these teachers have been subjected to dehumanizing treatment by the establishment, and on the other hand various trade union leaders, groups and their agents have been exploiting the situation to strengthen their respective unions.
The situation on the grounds reflects a humanitarian crisis as these teachers are penniless on the eve of Eid ul Fitar. It is only possible in this part of the world that a teacher has to protest and beg for his legitimate right to wages. Thus is a violation of constitutional, ethical and various industrial laws. The sad part of the story is that there seems to be no concern or anguish expressed by various civil society groups and human rights activists/organizations.
It is the delicate issue of education of scores of children and survival of elderly parents of these teachers. The government needs to wake up and show due compassion towards the plight of these teachers, after all the strikes and protests also leads to academic loss of poor children who are enrolled in governmental educational institutions who are being taught by SSA teachers.
The government should not capitalize on the disunity of various trade unions. Many troublemakers are creating confusion among the common teachers by farrago of distortions, outright lies and propaganda only to add insult to injury. Many cases have been reported where the SSA teachers and their families are going through abject depression which clearly reflects the seriousness of the issue. There is no denying the fact that this situation has risen due to the mismanagement and the abuse of the SSA scheme by the previous dispensation, as the teachers have been appointed without taking into consideration their future and all the aspects of the scheme.
The onus is now upon the incumbent government to take corrective steps in order to secure the future of thousands of well qualified and well trained SSA teachers. The immediate step in this direction could be to delink the salaries of head teachers who are drawing huge amounts from SSA, who also happen to be the regular SSRB teachers. It doesnt take rocket science to streamline the SSA salary and the education minister has already formed the committee in this regard but there is little optimism.
The government should address it not only as the issue of SSA salary but also to its relation with the education of our future generations. It is also out of the comprehension of a common man to see the police ruthlessly beating up the nation builders, and wounding dozens of teachers with utter disregard. Nothing can be more humiliating than subjecting the teachers to such treatment and keeping them without salary for months together.
It unfortunately also exposes our collective callousness towards our education system, which has real capacity to bring about a social change and guide us towards prosperity. One can only hope that the concerned department and the government, take immediate steps to streamline the salary of these SSA teachers. Only education can change lives and teachers hold the key.
Rayees Masroor
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
