Tulu teachers’ pay hit as Karnataka govt pulls grant to Tulu Sahithya Academy

Although the state government introduced Tulu as an optional language in 2010 from Class 6 onwards, it was yet to sanction a post for the same.

For the past 12 years, the Karnataka Tulu Sahithya Academy was paying honorarium to the guest teachers engaged to teach schoolchildren Tulu, to promote the language at academic level. However, with the cut in the grant to Karnataka Tulu Sahithya Academy, along with the last few years of Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions and the natural calamities including floods, has hit the payment of the teachers’ honorarium.

“In spite of it, with the available funds, we are making all efforts to extend all help to the schools,” academy president Dayanand G Kathalsar told DH.

As many as 44 schools in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district were teaching Tulu as a third optional language from Class 6. However, the government had not appointed any teachers to teach Tulu. The academy had been paying Rs 3,000 as honorarium for the guest Tulu teachers. The academy also spent over Rs 1.58 lakh, annually, as the honorarium for the teachers.

The academy president said: “The grant to the academy was reduced to Rs 36 lakh from Rs 80 lakh. With the available grant, we have to take up all the activities of the academy, including the payment of salary to the staff at the academy.”

In the beginning, the syllabus was prepared by the academy. Now, the syllabus was prepared by the textbook committee and the academy had no role in it. Despite that, the government failed to sanction any post so far. According to sources, if the posts are sanctioned, then there will be employment generation for those who have pursued MA in Tulu.

Kathalsar explained: “We have asked the SDMCs to bear the expenses with the help of donors on paying honorarium to teachers teaching Tulu. Many have responded positively. With our limited sources, we have been paying the honorarium. The academy has also written to the government seeking a special grant of Rs 50 lakh to make payment for the teachers engaged in teaching Tulu. If the grant is released, then it will be set aside for making the payment of honorarium.”

“I have written to MLAs, DK MP, ministers to draw the attention of the government on sanctioning a budget for paying honorarium to guest teachers,” he added.

According to officials from the department of school education and literacy “no post for Tulu teacher has been sanctioned by the government. The guest teachers are recruited by the government only when there is a sanctioned vacant post in the government schools.”