Government school teachers of Telangana took to the streets once more, demanding that spouse teachers be posted in the same district. "It has been 16 months that we are waiting for the government to implement such appointments, but nothing has been done yet," says Vivek S, a teacher and President of the Telangana Spouse Forum.
On April 25, Tuesday, hundreds of teachers and their families held peaceful rallies in front of the collectorates of 13 districts in the state. According to Vivek, the process of allotment of teachers to districts was done in December 2021 in Telangana as per the 2018 Presidential Orders. Concerning this allotment, the government made it clear that the teachers who are husband and wife should be allotted posts in districts of their choice as per Circular Memo Number 1655.
About 1,400 spouse teachers are still waiting...
However, the implementation of this memo is yet to see the light of the day. In January, and subsequently, in March, the Spouse Forum had protested over the issue. Several women teachers on March 8 submitted a representation to Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy on the matter. "Later that day, about 600 spouse teachers out of a total of 2,000 received appointments in their chosen districts. But about 1,400 are still waiting," Vivek says.
The issues on ground
Due to appointments in separate districts, the teachers' families are fragmented, the President explains. Spouses have to travel 200-300 kilometres every day to stay together. Their children are often separated, having to stay with either parent or having to adjust in hostels. Many old teachers suffering from health issues are forced to live separately from their families, with no one to take care of them.
"The families of teachers are under severe mental anxiety as they are unable to take care of their elderly parents. Many teachers are worried that these developments are having a serious and adverse effect on the quality, efficiency and skill of teaching," mentions a press release from the Forum. "A majority of the sufferers are women teachers. We request the government to address this issue as early as possible," Vivek tells. Tomorrow, April 27, the teachers are going to meet A Sridevasena, Director of School Education and V Karuna, Principal Secretary of Education.