When Dr. Sreelatha M.Sc., Ph.D (Education) who was working in a priviate B.Ed college felt that doing a PhD would help her in career advancement, she could never imagined what she was stepping into. After many years of hard labour, at 42 yrs, she is still working in a self financing B.Ed center run by Calicut university, Kerala. She works on contract basis earning 16000 Rs. per month and not a paisa more as allowance. Her annual increment is a measly Rs.250/-. Many of her students have joined government/ aided schools and earns more than her.
Besides low monthly pay and job insecurity she has to suffer lot of other humiliations too, like a servant in the past. Her counterparts with same qualifications working in the government and aided colleges get about 5-6 times her salary plus all allowances including pension, medical benefits, maternity benefits, Travelling allowance, Dearness allowances, etc. and job security which she does not enjoy as a Principal of B.Ed college working on contract basis. More insulting thing is that the librarian, section officer and sweeper in the same college are permanent employees of the University. Only the faculty members and the Principal of these institutions are on contract basis. Every year the faculty members and the Principals have to apply for renewing their contracts with Calicut University and the University bosses delay their papers and as a result they have to go for months without salaries.
The shameless Universities do not respect the teaching profession though they are supposed to respect learning. Dr.Sreelatha and other faculty members of the B.Ed colleges are not included in any governmental programs except when there is shortage of teachers for evaluation of B.Ed papers..
The UGC bosses in Delhi often releases press notes in which they claim that there is shortage of qualified teachers in the universities. This they are doing to ensure that they get extension of their tenure and also get appointments after their retirement. At the same time the UGC qualified candidates with years of teaching experience and doctoral degrees are not given employment and decent pay. This is corruption in another form.
Ninety percent of B.Ed college teachers in the Kerala State are working in unaided / government colleges and suffer job insecurity, low wages, zero allowances and second grade treatment, even though they are fully qualified as per UGC norms to be lecturers.
The powerful lobby of school teachers working in the government who has the political backing has snatched away B.Ed college faculty positions too. In the four B.Ed colleges in government sector appointments are made by giving priority to government /aided school teachers. Through a clever provision named "By Transfer" the Government recruits the college lecturers from among the government school teachers. Even the hon. High Court of Kerala has refused to see the injustice done to direct candidates through this.
There are 17 aided B.Ed colleges where one can get appointment as Lecturer by paying 'donation' to the management. This 'donation' is selling a government post by the management and making money. This is not seen as corruption even by the Courts, probably because this does not come under the term 'corruption'; after all, daylight robbery is not a cognizable offence under Indian Penal Code probably. In India you can walk away like gentleman after a daylight robbery like this innocuous "donation" where in fact it is government posts are sold by the managements of educational institutions.
Thus out of about 230 or so B.Ed colleges government salaries are received by only the elite groups of teachers working in 4 government colleges an 17 aided colleges. The rest 90% earn less than a mason in the State. So much we give importance to our education.
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