Surplus Teachers Oppose Rural Transfers, Protests Planned

A shift to English-medium education in private schools has rendered more than 400 teachers surplus

- Niraj Pandit

MUMBAI: More than 400 surplus teachers from Mumbai's civic, government-aided, and minority-run government-aided schools assembled outside the office of the deputy director of education at Charni Road on Thursday, to protest the suspension of their salaries after they refused transfers to schools in rural areas. More protests have been planned over the next few days.

These teachers have been rendered surplus due to changing enrolment preferences, where parents are choosing to send their children to private institutions rather than municipal and government-run schools.

Over the last decade, the drop in enrolment numbers has been particularly sharp in Marathi-medium and non-English medium schools, as parents are keen to have their children educated in English.

This has resulted in a skewed student-teacher ratio, especially in Mumbai's municipal and government schools. According to the Right to Education Act, the student-teacher ratio across all schools in Mumbai has been fixed at 30:1 at the primary level, and 35:1 at the upper primary level. A drop in the number of students automatically renders teachers surplus, which is at the heart of the surplus teachers impasse.

On this basis, the state education department has declared more than 530 teachers surplus in municipal, government and minority-run government-aided schools, since 2013. Of these, some teachers have been reinstated, to replace colleagues who have retired. However, over 400 teachers continue to be deemed surplus.