In a week-long hunger strike at Mumbai's Azad Maidan since 2 October, more than 100 blind teachers and many special education teachers from Maharashtra government schools across the country have been protesting for fair treatment in the educational system. These teachers are demanding permanent appointments and fair pay.
All protesting teachers are certified by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). RCI is a government organisation that regulates training programmes and courses aimed at disabled and underprivileged people.
Despite their important role, these contract-based teachers have faced seven years without a pay increase. According to reports, in 2017, their pay was reduced by INR 1,500 by the Maharashtra Primary Education Council (MPEC), leaving them with only INR 20,000.
Since 2012, the state's educational system has demoted 1,775 qualified special needs educators to contractual roles. The protesting teachers are demanding permanent appointments and suitable remuneration.
The Right to Education (RTE) Act is the key part of their protest. The central government has instructed state governments to assign specific teachers for children with special needs in schools under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
The government law mandates one teacher for every ten students. However, each special education teacher is reportedly overseeing about 100 students due to inadequate staffing.
Earlier, the DKSTA had filed a PIL (public interest litigation) before the Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of the teachers in July 2022. Following this ruling, several states began appointing these educators permanently. It includes states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and West Bengal.
The state department of education handles the appointments of these teachers. A meeting of teachers with the department is scheduled for October 10.
These protesting teachers hold a D.Ed. or B.Ed. with special education experience. They continue to provide video consultations from the protest site at Azad Maidan.
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