Blazers for students, pay hike for teachers

In a bid to upgrade the infrastructure of the high schools run by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the education standing committee of the civic body recommended new uniform and pay hike for teachers.

During the recent meeting of the standing committee, members recommended blazers be introduced for class 8, 9 and 10 students in the 164 schools.

A proposal was made to increase the pay for teachers by 100% to promote the quality of education and quality of teaching. The standing committee urged to improve the quality of teaching especially in science and math.

The committee is yet to prepare the detailed requirements.

“The proposal to introduce blazers in the high school students’ uniform was made in order to change the public’s inferior perspective of the BBMP schools and students. Soon, the matter will be placed before the council for approval,” chairman of the education standing committee Imran Pasha told DH.

According to Pasha, there is an immediate need to hike the pay of teachers. “They are paid as much as the pourakarmikas. They educate our children but are paid less -- around Rs 17,000. We want to increase their salary to Rs 30,000-35,000, so that they can lead financially stable lives,” he said.

Moreover, the BBMP’s standing committee is not happy over the functioning of the Roshini Scheme. The scheme has so far installed only a television in schools, Pasha said. “The Roshini Scheme is not making any difference as expected. Still, the quality of education has not improved. We have received a good budget allocation for the sector. We shall improve the condition of our schools,” Pasha added.

According to the BBMP, there are 17,500 children studying in the 164 schools and 14 pre-university colleges run by the BBMP.