JOIN USPrivate schools sack staffers, not to pay next 2 months’ salary
Private school managements that were warned of disaffiliation and criminal action for demanding a fee from parents during this COVID-19 crisis have now started terminating services of teaching and non-teaching staff.
This came to light when an audio clip of administration staff of a reputed private school on Richmond Road, Bengaluru, terminating the service of its bus driver for the next academic year became public.
According to drivers working with the transportation department of various private unaided schools in the city: “School managements are behaving inhumanly with us. Many of us are getting calls from schools asking to settle if any dues from the accounts department after the reopening as they don’t need our services anymore.”
Not just drivers, the schools are even dismissing services of teachers and other non-teaching staff, including helpers. “I have been working for a private school in central Bengaluru for the past one year. Two days ago, I got a call from the school saying they were relieving me from the services. As many of us are on the contract basis we have no right to question,” said a female teacher working with a reputed primary school in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, some of the school managements have told their staff that they won’t pay salaries for April and May following the early closure of schools due to COVID-19 and also parents not paying fees for the term due to lockdown.
D Shashi Kumar, General Secretary of Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary schools in Karnataka, said: “Budget schools are struggling to pay the salaries to staff. This is why we have requested the government to release our dues towards the Right to Education admissions.”
It can be recalled that a few days ago, the government warned the school management with criminal action and disaffiliation if they demand fees from parents. Now, the staff working with private schools are requesting the department of public instructions to save their jobs.