'I don't feel like I'm a teacher'

Ram Wakchaure purchases vegetables for 275 students and others every morning from a market near his home – three kilos of potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes and more. “I know the price of every vegetable by heart. I hang the bags on my motorbike and go to school,” says the teacher at the zilla parishad  school in Virgaon village.

In June, Wakchaure, 44, a resident of the Kalasgaon village in Ahmednagar’s Akola taluka was transferred to the school in Virgaon, around 20 kilometres away. He had worked as a teacher in the Kalasgaon primary school for 18 years. Now, his main duty is to ensure the mid-day meal scheme is implemented (under the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education).

“The principal cannot do everything, so he has delegated responsibilities,” he says, barely looking up from the mid-day meal register he is filling. “A government job gives you security, but I don’t feel like I am a teacher.”

Wakchaure’s extra-curricular duties are not uncommon – teachers at zilla parishad (ZP) schools in Maharashtra are frequently assigned non-academic work. This, they say, leaves them with barely any time to teach.

Sabaji Datir, 42, Wakchaure’s colleague at the Virgaon school, which has classes till the seventh standard, says the tasks in the course of the year total more than 100. On an average, Datir spend 15 hours a week on non-academic work. “These often coincide with school hours [four hours a day],” he says. “We try and work after school as much as we can.” When the two overlap, non-academic tasks are prioritised.

“According to the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 (specifically, Section 27), teachers can be asked to do non-academic work only during elections, at the time of a natural disaster, and every 10 years for the census,” Datir adds.

But the 300,000 teachers in Maharashtra’s state schools work at all other times too on various non-teaching tasks for the district administration and state government – they check how many people in the village are living below the poverty line, examine whether government schemes are reaching them, inspect if villagers are using toilets and talk to them about the disadvantages of defecating in the open. (See ZP schools: coping without power, water, toilets)

The teachers are not paid though for these many additional tasks. A ZP school teacher, who is required to be a graduate plus have a diploma in Education, and a secondary school teacher, who must be a graduate with a BEd degree, start work with a consolidated salary of Rs. 25,000. They can, at most, as a principal, earn Rs. 60,000 years later. This salary covers various ‘allowances’ – dearness allowance, travel, rent and so on. And from the consolidated salary, various sums are deducted, including professional tax and pension contributions.  With no payment for the hours of non-academic work.

Women teachers have to struggle even more. Tabassum Sultana, in her mid-40s, who teaches at the girls’ school in Osmanabad town, says she has to juggle between academic duties, non-academic tasks and household chores. “The work hours or timings for teachers are the same irrespective of their gender,” she says. “But we also have to look after our in-laws and kids, cook food for them, ensure everything is in place before leaving home.” Tabassum has two sons, both in college. “They have grown up,” she says. “It was particularly difficult when they were in school. But now I am used to it.”

Kapil Patil, a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from the ‘teachers constituency’ (nominated by teachers), says teachers are soft targets. “They are educated, available and government servants. This is one of the reasons the number of students is declining in zilla parishad schools in Maharashtra. (See Sometimes, there's no place like school) Teachers are not available to teach, which does not mean they are on holiday. They are slogging elsewhere. And students suffer the most in the process because it has a direct impact on the quality of education.” 

At the receiving end are around 4.6 million students (2017-18 figures) who study in 61,659 zilla parishad schools in Maharashtra. The ZP schools offer free education and most of the students are from families of farmers and agricultural labourers, many from Dalit and Adivasi communities who cannot afford private schooling. “This is compromising the education of a section of society,” says Solapur-based activist and teacher Navnath Gend. “But when teachers refuse to work as booth level officers, the local administration even threatens them.”

Parmeshwar  Survase, 37, a primary school teacher in the ZP school in Modnimb village in Madha taluka of Solapur district, had a first information report (FIR) registered against him in November 2017, after he objected to working as a booth level officer. “My responsibility is to provide quality education,” he says. “At my school, six of us teachers were told to work as booth level officers a week before the exams. We said six teachers cannot leave in one go, or the students will suffer. We requested to meet the tehsildar.”