20 years on, Marathi teacher yet to get entitled pay

School management denies teacher’s allegations and says they are strictly following education norms

At the time when there is a demand to maintain and protect the dignity and essence of Marathi language in Maharashtra, a Marathi teacher has been compelled to run from pillar to post for ‘justice.’ The teacher, who teaches Marathi in Jhulelal Trust School, Ulhasnagar, has accused the school management of harassing him and not paying his salary, despite a standing order from the Bombay High Court.

Dinesh Singh, the Marathi teacher, had dragged the school management to the HC first in 2002 along with other teachers of the school. The teachers had demanded their payment as per the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Rules (MEPS), of 1981. The HC by an order in 2010, had directed the school management to pay their salaries as per the MEPS rules. The school, as per Singh, however, turned a blind eye to these orders which forced him to file a contempt petition in the HC in 2012. The HC after hearing his contentions was ‘prima facie’ satisfied that the school management has breached the orders of the court and had accordingly issued a contempt of court notice against them.

After all this in March 2018, the school itself made a statement before the division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Sadhana Jadhav, assuring the bench it would pay all the arrears and revised salary within a period of three months.

“The school has misled the court and has failed to stand by its own words. The management had assured the court that it would pay off my salary but I have not yet received even a penny,” Singh told The Free Press Journal.

“Amid this protracted litigation, the school management has now started to harass me by various means. They have demoted me, despite my seniority,” Singh said. According to Singh, initially, he used to teach only Class X students but now after all this legal case, he has been demoted and asked to teach students of Class V, VI and VIII. The school, on the other hand, has refuted the allegation and has claimed that Singh has been assigned the classes as per his qualification.

“I was teaching class X since my appointment but I fail to understand how the school realised after so many years that I am not eligible to teach higher classes,” Singh said, adding, “This is not the only way the management has harassed me. They have even hired detectives to keep an eye on me.”

Singh further said, “After the March 2018 order which clearly directs the school to pay me my arrears and revised salary, I have not received anything. Instead, I have received two memos from the management for very unknown reasons.”

According to the school authorities, they have issued the memos on the basis of complaints from students and parents. “We received complaints that Singh has slapped students, which is against the rules. We have CCTV footages showing him sitting idle in the class instead of teaching,” said a management office bearer, who did not wish to be named. “We are paying the correct salary but Singh has too many higher demands. His conduct towards the management is not good and is aggressive both in class and with us,” the authority claimed.