Mumbai night schools to get more teachers

Night schools in the city and the state will get more teachers as the state education department has allowed teachers to work either during the day or during the night. Students in over 176 night schools in the state and 137 schools in Mumbai itself will now have full time dedicated teachers.

As per the government regulation (GR) issued on May 17, 2017, full time teachers working in private, aided or unaided schools will not be allowed to work in night schools on a part-time basis. Vinod Tawde, minister for school education, higher and technical education, said the teachers will have to work either during the day or during the night so that they can dedicatedly serve the students.

Over 1,010 teachers currently work full time during the day and teach in various night schools on a part time basis. Darshana Pandav, a night school teacher, said, “The salary earned by a teacher working in a day school is Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 whereas in night schools we earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 without any security benefits. The qualification required is the same yet there is a huge inferiority gap as teachers often hesitate to work for night schools.”

This move has come to tackle the problem where teachers did not take teaching in night schools seriously. “Some teachers would work part time in night schools and therefore work for just few hours without any dedication. Some would just come for few hours just to earn some more money,” said Pandav.

Teachers will also get better opportunities and designations in night schools. Few teachers of day schools can opt for the post of a principal in night schools.