MP: Women guest teachers demand paid maternity leave

Bhopal- Women guest teachers across government schools in Madhya Pradesh have demanded paid maternity leaves akin to permanent teachers. The issue was raised through the Guest Teachers Association (GTA) at a time when Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is supposed to chair a meeting to discuss the demand of regularising those who have been serving as guest teachers for more than 10 years.

The GTA raised the issue, saying that women guest teachers are being forced to serve even in critical conditions They are serving in fear of termination or being forced to resign. GTA secretary Ravikant Gupta in a statement issued to the press on Monday said the situation of women guest teachers is always in fear of loss of their jobs.

"Even if guest teachers are unwell, they are not allowed to go on leave. The situation of women teachers is more critical as they can't avail maternity leave. It's a genuine demand, for which, the association has been raising its voice for the last several years," said.

He further claimed, that in 2014, the Madhya Pradesh government had announced to provide 13 days of leave and six months of maternity leave for women, but no official order has been issued. "Since then, we have raised this issue time and again and approached ministers and state officials but the situation remained the same," he added.

Permanent teachers at state government-run schools are entitled to 180 days of paid maternity leave. Guest teachers, however, are not provided such benefits and face the risk of salary deduction in case they go on maternity leave. In 2018, the Madhya Pradesh government issued an order, allowing unpaid maternity leaves to women guest teachers in government colleges.

But the guest teachers in schools, however, claimed they are still not allowed to opt for maternity leaves. Last month, guest teachers organised a massive protest in Bhopal and even gheraoed Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's bungalow for regularising the services of those who have been serving for over 10-15 years.

In government schools in the state, over 70,000 guest teachers are employed, with many having served for up to 15 years. Several guest teachers have filed a petition in the High Court demanding the regularization of their services. They argue that they have passed the teacher eligibility test and are trained in D.Ed and B.Ed.

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