Syllabus: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Context and Recent Developments
- Contract teachers in Puducherry protested demanding job regularisation.
- Protest march towards Assembly halted by police on February 3.
- Earlier sit-in protests lasted over four days near Assembly.
- Government assured regularisation; implementation delays triggered renewed protests.
Nature of Contractual Teaching Workforce
- Contract teachers also termed para teachers, guest teachers, shiksha mitras.
- States recruited them to address teacher shortages since early 1990s.
- Appointed on short-term contracts with lower remuneration.
- Often perform duties equivalent to regular teachers.
Scale of Contractual Employment
- UDISE+ data shows contract teachers form about 16% workforce.
- Over 16 lakh teachers employed on contractual or part-time basis.
- Contracts frequently extended without permanent absorption.
- Lack benefits like pay parity and job security.
Cost and Policy Rationale
- States view contractual hiring as cost-effective staffing solution.
- World Bank (2009) noted salaries one-fourth of regular teachers.
- Lower wage burden ensures teacher availability in schools.
School-Level Dependence
- In over 1.5 lakh schools, contract staff form at least half workforce.
- Indicates structural reliance beyond temporary staffing gaps.
Institutional Distribution Patterns
- About 21% private schools have majority contractual teachers.
- Highest reliance among all school categories.
- Nearly 8% State government schools (over 77,000) show similar trends.
Rural–Urban Trends
- Pattern consistent across rural and urban regions.
- Suggests shortages alone do not explain contractual hiring.
Regional Concentration
- High dependence seen in Northeastern States.
- Includes Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
- Over 30% schools affected in Jharkhand, Haryana, Chandigarh.
Judicial Intervention
- Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled against misuse of contracts.
- Ordered regularisation of Chandigarh SSA teachers with 10+ years service.
- Key Concern
- Persistent contractualisation raises issues of equity, quality, and workforce stability.