news details |
|
|
| Exploitation of Teachers by private Institutions | | | Jaswant Singh Rana | 4/27/2011 10:41:11 PM |
| IN the neoliberal tradition of education, maximisation of profit and exploitation of labour go hand in hand. This model of education, which became popular now a days is based on a factory model where the
emphasis is on mass production in order to make the venture viable in financial terms.
In order to keep them on their toes, teachers are constantly demonized and exploited in different ways, be they economic, physical, emotional, social or psychological.
In private English-medium schools, teachers are little more than robots, which is akin to being in a factory assembly line. In most of these schools, the punch-card system is in place and teachers are
interrogated, insulted and penalized for being late. A common practice is that if a teacher is late for a day, a day's salary is deducted. Their physical exploitation involves long working hours. In some cases
a teacher is asked to teach five to seven classes a day. In most schools, teachers are not even given an appropriate place to work when not taking a class and often end up sitting in some vacant corner of
the school.
There are school managements that have gone as far as removing teachers' chairs from classrooms to deprive them of the option of taking a seat during class. On the other hand, some private elite
schools also make them work for extended periods of time on classroom decoration and presentations, noticeboard presentations and student activities. For some of these, they have to forego their holidays for
which they are not compensated. Needless to say, their salary is not worth the work and humiliation that they are subjected to in a sometimes threatening environment.
A large majority of teachers in elite schools complain of emotional exploitation as the attitude of the management is one that seeks to control its workforce through intimidation. Teachers' individual
creativity is nipped in the bud and they are forced to work within the tight shackles of school regulations. This emotional exploitation is closely linked to psychological mistreatment where tutors have to live
with the threat of unannounced classroom visits by the management. This bureaucratic and hierarchical system suits the top management - they keep their teachers at a distance and use coordinators to exert
control by checking their work and movements. In most cases, the management does not even trust teachers, and assumes that they are either shirkers or cheaters.
Also, private institutions do not provide health cover, transport facilities or retirement benefits. In short, there is no job security and a teacher in a private school ha s to live from moment to moment. This suppressive and disabling environment makes them helpless, and compliant implementers, acting as tiny screws in a big machine. It is, unsurprisingly, more taxing for female staffers who are supposed to
fulfil expectations of work as well as family.
Another ill is that English is considered a panacea for all educational woes. Private schools are obsessed with proficiency in the English language. As a consequence, the hiring, promotion and worth of an individual depends on his/her command over the language.. Some highly intelligent and competent candidates are deprived of selection as they are unable to speak in English. However, some schools do claim to have workshops and courses for the 'development' of teachers but most of these exercises are not without a catch - they are limited in their scope as they focus on skills and strategies rather than on
conceptual change or inculcating reflective skills among instructors. Instead of sponsoring teachers for such initiatives, schools make them pay for teacher training programmes.
In a rigid bureaucratic environment, favouritism and flattery flourish; creative initiatives and innovative practices are discouraged. This culture of conformity and submission distorts personalities as staffers are treated like factory workers for enhanced productivity and efficiency. They, however, tend to forget
that there is a major difference between the work done by factory workers and educators. A factory produces identical items on a mass scale in an assembly line and the worker is merely doing his or her
bit in a predictable, mechanical manner. A school is supposed to develop individuals with independent, critical thinking abilities; who can reflect and have the courage to challenge the taboos of society and who believe in emancipation, peace, coexistence and a wider notion of socio-economic development. How can teachers inculcate such qualities in their students if they end up becoming submissive, insecure automatons?
Govt. must take into consideration these facts so that exploitations of teachers at the hands of private institutions may be checked.Govt. must fix. minimum salary to be paid to teachers.There
must also be an agency to ensure that proper salary is being provided to teachers.(The writer is a research scholar of Deptt. of Political Science ,University of Jammu)
Contact No.9796824810
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
