Bhatkal: As a result of the long lockdown, while all sections including migrant workers and daily wage employees are suffering, teachers and lecturers of private schools and colleges have also been badly affected by the lockdown and are focusing on other occupations to obtain earnings for daily living. Sources said that some teachers are also focusing on taking up the profession of driving so that they can meet their daily expenses. 

Schools and colleges are closed due to Coronavirus lockdown, and nothing is clear about when the educational institutions will reopen, which shall take more than three more months.

It is learnt that teachers and lecturers in some private schools and colleges have not been paid their salaries for the last one or two months. In these circumstances, those who work in private educational institutions are worried about their livelihood, as a result of which they are forced to think about finding other jobs.

It has also been reported that some teachers of Bhatkal have been trying to rent a car and find employment. Some of them are compelled to sell fruits. One teacher, on condition of anonymity, said, I am driving a car to get a job through right earnings, so what is the shame in that? Because, by doing something, I have to make a living for myself and my family. If I remain idle, the situation of me and my family shall worsen.

Another teacher said, teachers of private schools and colleges already receive small salaries, we get only Rs 8,000-10,000 per month, wherein we have to pay house rent, family expenses, electricity bill and children's tuition fees. In this case, if our salaries are withheld or halved, then we will not have enough money to pay the rent. We now may have to find another job, considering the situation.

It is said that parents will not pay their children's fees until schools and colleges start, also if the educational institutions do not receive the students' fees, then how will the administration pay the teachers' salaries?

Teachers and lecturers are demanding the government to cooperate in this regard by announcing adequate compensation. These people question that if the government announces compensation to auto drivers, construction workers, etc., then why not for teachers? If such an attitude is adopted towards teachers, then the future of the teachers who actually shape the future of the country will be bleak.

In this regard, the state representative of 'All India Teachers Association', Muhammad Raza Manvi, admitted that it is true that many private teachers are now thinking of changing their jobs. "We can only demand from the government that the it should transfer the salaries to the teacher's bank accounts, from March until schools start," he said. He said that thousands of teachers in the state have been serving for the last 20-25 years on very low salaries, with no significant increase in their pay. Despite the government's decree, educational institutions are compelled to pay minimum wages due to non-payment of fees. That is why if the government identifies non-aided schools and arranges to pay minimum wages to the teachers of these schools, the problems of the teachers can be solved to some extent, he noted. He also demanded from the State's Chief Minister and Education Minister to feel the plight of teachers and help them.