40 contract teachers in Mira-Bhayandar awaiting salary for six months, facing financial crisis

Bhayandar, Nov 7 (City News Mumbai)

The salary of 40 contract teachers of Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation has been pending for the last six months. Due to non-payment of salary, the teachers are going through a severe financial crisis. Non-receipt of salary even on an important festival like Diwali has caused financial hardship for the teachers and their families.

A total of 36 schools of Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and Gujarati medium are run under the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation. About 10 thousand students are receiving education in these schools. Due to the shortage of permanent teachers, 40 teachers were appointed on a contract basis a year ago to handle the teaching work in the secondary and higher secondary departments. These teachers had started work to ensure that the studies of the students were not affected while discharging their responsibilities.

But now a serious crisis has arisen in front of these teachers to support their families. The contractual tenure of these 40 teachers ended in the month of April. As per rules, the administrative process of extending the service period and paying the pending salary was expected to be completed before the end of the tenure. However, due to administrative delay in the Education Department, this process could not be completed on time.

As a result, the salary of the teachers has been stuck for the last six months. It has become difficult for them to pay household expenses, house rent, children's education fees and loan installments. Non-receipt of salary even during a major festival like Diwali has increased their troubles further.

In this matter, Sneha Pandey, Chairperson of the Education, Art, Sports and Cultural Committee of Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, clarified her position and demanded immediate payment of pending salary to the contract teachers. In this regard, a letter has been submitted to the Mayor and the Municipal Commissioner, informing them about the problem of the teachers. Also, this issue has been discussed.

Sneha Pandey informed that an assurance has been given by the Commissioner that necessary orders will be issued soon to pay the pending salaries of the teachers and extend their academic tenure.

Now it remains to be seen how long it takes for the Municipal Corporation administration to pay the pending salary to these 40 contract teachers and when the decision to extend their service period is taken.