Eight thousand teachers who were employed through the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) have complained that they have not received their salaries due to delay in passing the pay-authorisation order by the school education department.
The school education department had created additional posts for 1590 post graduate and 6752 graduate teachers under the RMSA scheme. These teachers were paid salaries based on the extension of the posts by the school education department.
When the one-year tenure expired for the posts in December 2018, the school education director asked for an extension of three years from January 2019, but the teachers were given three months’ extension, till March.
According to the unpaid teachers, had the authorisation letter been sent in April, they would not have been forced to go without salary for two weeks. However, the delay in the authorisation, followed by the time taken to process the same will mean the teachers may have to go without pay for another week.
Though the teachers were hired on a regular scale, they have always had to face delays in salary payment each time the extension lapses.
The president of the Tamil Nadu Teachers Association has requested the government to intervene and help these temporary teachers become regular employees so that they can receive their salaries on time.
The officials claim that the school education department has sought extension of three years, but the proposal is still pending. The teachers feel that for the month of May, the authorisation letter should be released before the month ends so that there is enough time for processing and salary disbursement takes place on time.
