Upgraded centres, downgraded pay: Teachers raise their voice

Highlights

Teachers at upgraded mini Anganwadi centres are up in arms against the Congress-led State government, accusing it of failing to implement the promised salary hikes despite upgrading their centres to main Anganwadis.

Khammam: Teachers at upgraded mini Anganwadi centres are up in arms against the Congress-led State government, accusing it of failing to implement the promised salary hikes despite upgrading their centres to main Anganwadis.

It should be mentioned that the previous BRS administration intended to promote mini Anganwadi instructors to main Anganwadi teachers and increase their pay after recognising their excellent contributions. In December 2023, Women and Child Welfare Minister D Anasuya Seethakka approved the plan to turn 3,989 mini Anganwadis into main centres following the Congress party’s election to power. She also approved a plan to raise the pay of micro centre teachers from Rs 7,500 to Rs 13,500.

Following teacher demonstrations calling for the proposal to be implemented, the government issued directives in January 2024 that included designating one assistant for every improved Anganwadi centre. For only three months, teachers in upgraded centres received their salaries as such; after that, the government began paying them the salaries of mini centres. To their dismay, the teachers are thus compelled to receive Rs 7,500 for the previous nine months in lieu of their raise.

Several times before, the teachers staged unsuccessful rallies in the streets to seek their proper pay. G Padma, an Anganwadi teacher and head of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), charged that the State administration was ignoring the need for enhanced Anganwadi teachers. She insisted that Seethakka, the minister, find a quick solution. She reported that the teachers had presented memorandums to the local ministers, the secretary of the department of women’s development and child welfare, and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. However, she claimed that since nothing has been done, teachers are forced to return to the streets.

It’s unfortunate that even after the centres have been upgraded, teachers who are required to perform extra work still receive a mini centre salary. It is merely exploitation. Devi, an Anganwadi teacher from Kothagudem, reported that when questioned, the administrators claimed that there had been an issue with the budget’s release.