-By Vijaykumar Gund
Teachers play a vital role in shaping society. Their influence extends beyond imparting academic knowledge; they mold students’ character, values, and perspectives on life. Therefore, teachers deserve respect and protection of their rights. However, in today’s education system, they are often treated merely as employees. Many aspects of their professional lives, such as salaries, promotions, financial benefits, loans, and medical reimbursements, are controlled by institutional management and principals. As a result, teachers frequently have to fight for their basic rights, leading to financial exploitation and a decline in their self-esteem.
The Headmaster’s Role in Teacher Welfare
The headmaster serves as the bridge between teachers and management. Their duties are not limited to administrative tasks but also include addressing teachers’ concerns, providing guidance, and safeguarding their rights. Headmasters must remember that they were once teachers themselves. They hold significant authority over matters like pay scales, promotions, selection grades, and medical bill approvals. Unfortunately, in some cases, principals fail to support teachers and instead enable their oppression by the institution’s management.
Financial Exploitation and Bureaucratic Challenges
It is distressing that teachers must approach institutional management to secure the benefits they rightfully deserve. Issuing salary certificates, loan guarantees, and approving medical reimbursements are the principal’s responsibilities. However, teachers are often directed to management unnecessarily, creating an unofficial system where financial favors are exchanged for rightful benefits. This is not just financial exploitation but also a direct attack on the dignity of teachers. Some headmasters even collect funds under the directives of the management, coercing teachers into contributing money for fundraising activities.
Psychological Pressure and Workplace Harassment
Teachers who resist such practices face undue psychological pressure. They may be deliberately burdened with excessive work, have their minor mistakes magnified, or receive show-cause notices as a form of intimidation. This not only demoralizes teachers but also affects their ability to educate effectively. If educators, who are supposed to instill confidence in students, lose their own confidence due to systemic pressures, it is a severe setback for the education sector.
The Unseen Struggles of Teachers
Despite being expected to deliver quality education, teachers’ working conditions and struggles often go unnoticed by society. A mentally stressed teacher, constantly oppressed by an unjust system, cannot provide the best education. Society must not only demand quality education from teachers but also acknowledge and address their difficulties. The financial exploitation of teachers and the complicity of certain principals in this injustice should be condemned.
Advocating for Ethical Leadership in Schools
That being said, not all principals engage in such practices. Many are dedicated to developing their schools, advocating for teachers’ rights, and challenging the system’s injustices. These headmasters actively resolve teachers’ concerns, support them in financial and administrative matters, and resist undue interference from management. Their efforts create a conducive environment for teaching and learning, ultimately benefiting students.
A Call for Systemic Change
Headmasters should act as protectors of teachers’ rights rather than enforcers of an exploitative system. Institutional management must eliminate the tendency to extract financial benefits from teachers. Organizations like Teachers Bharati Sanghatana have taken a strong stance against these injustices, and society must also raise its voice against such exploitation. If teachers stand united, oppose injustice fearlessly, and pursue their rights through legal means, significant improvements can be made in the education system.
Restoring Respect in the Education Sector
Education is not merely about running institutions; it is about shaping the future of society. To prevent the erosion of values in the education sector, teachers must receive fair treatment and be allowed to work with dignity. Only through the collective efforts of headmasters, administrators, teachers, parents, and society can we eliminate the harmful elements in the education system and restore respect to the teaching profession.
(The author is the Solapur district spokesperson of Shikshak Bharati.)
