Editorial
A useful scheme at risk
Raise salary of community school teachers
THE grim prospect of seeing the community schools closing down entirely is becoming a reality. Already such schools in 10 districts have been unofficially closed. And the reason is that the teachers are no longer able to make both ends meet with the paltry sum that they get as pay. One is at a loss to understand how such a meagre amount of Tk1200 was determined as their monthly pay in the first place? The pattern would appear even more ridiculous when one considers that Tk. 500 was the pay of these teachers almost a decade ago, and increased to the current level of 1200 from Tk 750 in 2007.
The idea behind setting up the community schools was laudably need-based. Through this the underprivileged children could be brought under the mass education programme. But what the government seems to forget is that while it wants to offer certain services almost at no cost basis, perhaps the most important input, good teachers and quality teaching, do have a minimum cost. And if the teachers cannot have the bare minimum to survive, why any of them, who had gone through a selection process, and most of whom are graduates, should wish to serve as community teachers at all? They are paid less than peons, or government office drivers, or even day labourers.
The community teachers had in the past made efforts to the make their point. But they have been only partly successful. The amount fixed in 2007 is absurd given the manifold rise in the cost of every single essential item. One wonders why the finance ministry has shown no interest on the proposal of primary and mass education ministry, which had recommended an increase in the salary.
The education sector gets the chunk of the national budget, but the plight of the community teachers is rather pathetic, to say the least. There is very little doubt as to who will suffer in the long run. No doubt the quality of the teaching at the very basic level, which is very poor even now, will suffer even more. But more than that, a million children, particularly in the remote areas of the country that the scheme brings under its ambit, will be deprived from the benefits of primary education. The consequence is imponderable.
The finance ministry should wake up to this reality, sooner rather than later.
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