Honorarium to Dakshina Kannada guest teachers raised but no payment since reopening of schools

The Karnataka government hiked the honorarium paid to the guest teachers serving in government schools across the state, but the basic honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month has not been paid since reopening of the schools during the academic year, alleged Dakshina Kannada District Primary and High School Guest Teachers Association members.

“We have joined for work on May 15 as the schools reopened after the summer holidays. We have not been paid the honorarium till date. All the guest teachers are in distress. The situation is the same in all the districts across the state,” said Chitralekha, secretary of the association.

The government had started appointing guest teachers in schools since 2012 to tide over the shortage of teachers in the government schools. There are nearly 30,000 guest teachers working in government schools across Karnataka, including 750 teachers in Dakshina Kannada. “Initially we were paid an honorarium of Rs 5,000 per month. In 2017, the amount was raised to Rs 7,500 per month. During the state budget 2022-23, the government had hiked the honorarium to Rs 10,000 per month and had issued an order in this regard. Unfortunately, we failed to get the same for the last four months,” she said.

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The Association warned of staging a protest on September 26 in front of Mini Vidhana Soudha in Mangaluru if the honorarium amount is not released by September 25.

Association president Chandrika said, “The services of the guest teachers are renewed every year. We are not paid during the summer holidays. The school that we serve also changes every year depending on the workload and the number of students. There are some government schools wherein seven to 10 guest teachers are serving and some schools are managed with the help of guest teachers only,” she added.

Sowmya, vice president of Association of Mangaluru taluk said, “We brought the issue of non-payment of honorarium to the notice of Joint Director of Department of School Education and Literacy recently. The officials have informed that the grant was not released at the state-level for the payment of honorarium. Even after working, we are penniless and have to seek money from our family, for our daily expenses including travel by bus to the school, where we work. Our parents also hail from poor families and we do not like to seek money from our parents even after completing our studies. Majority of the guest teachers are in distress and are finding it difficult to eke out a living. We have availed loans and are in debt,” she added.

The association members urged the government to release the honorarium amount every month, to help them live with dignity. “The government should fix at least minimum wages to the guest teachers as the honorarium. There is no security for our service. Based on the experience of service, our services should be continued every year,” they added.