Teachers' benefits

However, we are constrained to say that there are loopholes that leave ground for discord and future dissonance, the possibility of which was demonstrated by a segment of the teachers refusing to accept the government tranche, which they feel, does not meet their demands fully. The government, we feel, has taken the decision unilaterally, although one was given to understand that all segments of the teachers would be consulted before a final decision was made. Thus not all the teachers have gone back to work and many of the schools and colleges continue to remain closed.

There are loopholes in the government decision that ought to be addressed, if the plight of the teachers is to be alleviated, in the light of the severe upward trend in the cost of living. For one thing, the government grant is conditional on the deposit to the treasury of the tuition fees. This is a proposition that the teachers feel hard to accept because, this is the fund from where the payment of salaries of those teachers not included in the MPO, are defrayed. Furthermore, the government announcement makes no mention of the house rent and medical allowances, which are at best paltry.

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While one does not want to overlook government's budget constraints, it must be said though that, not only should there be uniformity between the government and non-government teachers' salary structures, the teachers must be accorded a living wage. After all, those that are devoting their time to building our future generations deserve to be provided for adequately. It must be ensured that they are able to do their job without having to worry about fending for the next day.

The teachers must go back to the schools and colleges while the government initiates a serious dialogue with the teaching community to arrive at a durable and comprehensive solution to the remuneration and performance-related issues in the academic institutions.