By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net
Mumbai: In what may be called double standard of the Barihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as regards Urdu teachers, the civic body of the capital city of Maharashtra has not given routine promotion to the minority language teachers while Marathi and Hindi medium teachers have been upgraded.
On 1st of July, 75 teachers and the same number of deputy head masters of Hindi medium were upgraded to deputy head masters and head masters respectively. While in Marathi medium, 50 deputy headmasters were promoted to head masters and 70 teachers to deputy head masters.
‘The teachers who have been in service for 20-25 years are upgraded to deputy head masters and the deputy head masters are promoted to head masters. Their number is defined according to the vacant posts in the municipal schools,’ said Shaikh Nasiruddin, the zonal secretary of Barihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika Shikshak Sabha, a teacher’s NGO.
After immense efforts the BMC management in April had given promotion only to 17 teachers and 13 deputy head masters of Urdu language against the 89 and 63 vacant posts of deputy headmaster and headmaster respectively.
Shaikh said that despite the promise that the rest will be given promotion by the end of June or in early July; they are still to get the same while Hindi and Marathi medium teachers have been upgraded.
Meanwhile, BMC education officer Abha Saheb Jadhav while replying to a question in this regard said: “Right now our priority is to make teachers available in every municipal school classes.” He said that out of the total 254 vacancies for Urdu teachers the BMC has filled 253 adding that the delay was the result of the staff, which is expected to carry out teachers’ promotion, being busy completing the recruitment procedures. However, he was not able to give any concrete reason as to how upgrading of Hindi and Marathi medium teachers was done.
Jadhav, however, has assured that promotion of Urdu teachers too will be completed within one month.
BMC runs about 1,162 primary schools wherein 4,60,000 students are enrolled. Likewise there are 44,000 students in 49 secondary schools.