Kolkata: The Bengal govt plans to link annual salary increments for teachers in state-run primary schools to their teaching performance, school education minister Dipak Barman said on Thursday. The govt is also set to introduce a one-teacher-per-class system at the primary level to streamline the teaching-learning process.At a meeting with the newly appointed chairpersons of the District Primary School Councils on Thursday, Barman said the school education department wants to make teachers accountable based on their students’ annual performance and learning outcomes. If a teacher is responsible for 20 students and 15 of them cannot read, it would directly affect his or her annual increment, the minister said.“Accountability increases automatically when responsibilities are clearly defined. We want that level of accountability from primary teachers. We are discussing the matter,” he told reporters after the meeting at Vidyasagar Bhavan in Salt Lake.Barman cited “recent survey reports” flagging the lack of basic literacy among a large section of students at state-run primary schools to make his point. The govt, he said, is trying to improve the situation by holding teachers accountable if their students fail basic tests.All teachers at state-run primary schools in Bengal get an annual salary raise — 3% of their basic pay — in July. A primary teacher in the state starts his or her career with a basic pay of around Rs 34,000.Many teachers wondered whether the proposed performance-linked increment would be consistent with their service conditions, which entitle them to an annual increment. “We do not work in private schools, where salary hikes depend on the management’s discretion,” said a teacher in a primary school.The teachers also questioned the minister’s assertion that one teacher is enough for a class in the primary level, given the skewed teacher-student ratio. “We are ready to take full responsibility of the students, but how can 1.7 lakh teachers handle 3.3 lakh classes in 60,000-odd primary schools in the state?” said Dhruba Sekhar Mandal, general secretary of All Bengal Primary Teachers Association.“The govt should upgrade infrastructure in primary schools and fill vacancies. Only then can the primary teachers be held accountable. Most schools do not have proper classrooms or teaching-learning materials. Those deficiencies should be addressed first,” he said.Pintu Parui, co-convener of BJP teachers’ cell, welcomed the minister’s announcement and stressed the need for “some sort of accountability” for the betterment of the education system. “The minister also made it clear that every primary school must have at least three teachers,” he said.
About The Author
