 THE STATES, WORKING CONDITIONS
 AND WELFARE OF THE TEACHER (2,4, &
 12)

The Problem

5.01 The status of the teacher is one of the basic issues underlying all the 12 terms of reference remitted to us and has influenced our deliberations throughout. The basic problem from the nation's point of view is that unless this status is reasonably high, the teaching profession in this, country will not be able to attract and retain persons of ability. After listening to various representatives during our visits, we are convinced that the main difference between the good schools of this country and the bad ones, is essentially the difference in the quality of their teachers. If we could find some method to attract persons of ability and of character to the profession, prevent the recruitment of the unsuitable, and purge the profession of the incompetent, the standards of education in this country would improve very rapidly.

5.02 That our school teachers, do not enjoy a high social status is no secret; every Commission before and after independence has bemoaned the fact. University Education Commission regretted that school teaching was a much 'denigrated profession' while Mudaliar and his team expressed their dissatisfaction in no uncertain terms that the social status given to the school teacher in the country was unsatisfactory, as also his salary and other conditions of service. In our own survey nearly 82 percent of primary schools who responded to the question regretted that the teacher in our society today does not receive adequate respect and recognition. An equally high proportion of secondary teachers (82.3%) felt likewise. The response of teachers' organisations was understandably even more pessimistic : 93.7 per cent finding the present position of teachers entirely unsatisfactory and unacceptable.

5.03 Because of low teacher status a growing number of teachers and parents are turning away from the idea of accepting teaching as an attractive career for their wards. Several recent studies have produced objective data to this effect. In a recent study designed, among other things, to sample the opinion of 700 secondary school teachers, 700 students and 700 parents/guardians on this matter, it was found that only 9.9 per cent of the teachers had joined the pro- fession freely while for the others it was forced on them by unfavourable economic circumstances, Further, 65.1 per cent of the teachers and 56.5 per cent of parents did not want their wards to become teachers. The situation is truly alarming as "Nothing is more important than securing a sufficient supply of high quality recruits to the teaching profession providing them with the best possible professional preparation and creating satisfactory conditions of work in which they can be fully effective".1

5.04 If talented young men and women are not willing to join the teaching profession, and if those in it feel what role can education possibly play in national development ? The question carries its own answer.

Some Misconceptions

5.05 We might as well begin by clearing a few misconceptions about the past and present status of the teacher in our country.

5.06 The first misconception to be cleared is that the erosion of school teachers,' status is a post. independence phenomenon. As early as 1854, the Woods despatch had expressed the hope that the "profession of schoolmaster may, in the future, afford inducements to the natives of India such as are held out in the other branches of the public service". But, the situation did not change. Even 70 years later Phillip Hartog and his Committee members had to note with sorrow that "in no province is the pay of the teacher sufficient to give him the status which his work demands". A little earlier, in 1912, H. R. James of the Indian Education Service had occasion to call attention to the plight of the primary school teachers and to plead that "if there is one point clearly

THE STATUS, WORKING CONDITIONS AND WELFARE OF THE TEACHER 25

brought out by the last quinquennial review, by the Resolution of 1904, by provincial reports on public instruction since 1907, especially those for Bengal, it is the inadequate payment of primary school teachers, and the imperative necessity of making the teachers' livelihood better and better assured, if there is to be any advance of popular education worth the name".

5.07 Another misconception centres around the `Guru' of ancient days. It is true that the Guru enjoyed a very high status socially and was a person of learning and simple habits. It is also true that his economic motivations were not very pronounced. This has sometimes been misunderstood to mean that he did not have any economic interests and that a good teacher even today must nor entail himself too much in the economic aspect of his profession. Those who know the history of education in ancient India well will confirm that the Indian Guru was not always averse to asking a new pupil "Have you brought gold or will you pay for instruction by service?" Full of practical wisdom for our times are these words of Radhakrishnan Commission. "In this age of money, economy and private motives, it is vain to expect that teachers alone would rise above the spirit of the times".

5.08 The third point we must mention here is that the situation in which a school teacher works today is very different indeed from the situation obtaining say 50 or a 100 years ago. At a time when the primary school teacher was the only literate person in the village, and when the main function of teachers working in a handful of secondary schools in the country was to prepare its future elite, their prestige was high, much higher than what it is today. Now we have to reckon with the fact, however, that in a modern society, there are numerous careers resulting from technological, economic and social developments which inevitably enjoy a higher status because of their smaller numbers and more specialised training, This is a historical development which cannot be changed or reversed.

5.09 And finally, the misconception that teacher status is something that can be simply arranged by giving him a good salary, good promotional opportunities and good conditions of work. No one, we are happy to record, has been more emphatic than some of the teachers and representatives of teachers' organisations whom we had the privilege to meet, that this is not so, and that in the ultimate analysis teacher status is something that can only be earned and won by teachers through competence, hard and disciplined work, personal example and unwavering commitment.

Meaning of Status

5.10 Teachers' status is a complex sociological concept and can mean different things in different cultural contexts. In some countries, a teacher's status is determined by the teacher's freedom from religion and political restrictions; in some others he derives his status from the "control of professional standards". In many countries it is the good salary and salary scale which confer status. Some of the other factors that will influence the status of the teacher are: the sex of the teacher. the social class of the pupils, the social origin of the teacher, the age of the pupils, the subjects taught and the qualifications of the teachers.

5.11 A good practical definition of teacher status is the one agreed upon at the 1966 Inter-Governmental conference of UNESCO to which India is a signatory. The Conference defined the term teacher status as "meaning both the standing and regard the society accorded them as evidenced by the level of appreciation of the importance of their function and competence is performing it, as well as working conditions remuneration and other material benefits accorded them relative to other professional groups".

5.12 Of particular relevance to the present enquiry are the 5 determinants of teacher status as identified by the WCOTP study' on the "Status of Teachers in India".

1. The academic and professional requirements for entry into the profession.

2. The financial and other economic benefits;

3. The professional responsibilities assumed;

4. The freedom of teachers to take part in public affairs; and

5. The degree of public recognition.

5.13 It was suggested to us that the real reason why teachers' organisations in this country insistent by demand higher status is not so much that they are hankering after high status as that. because of their low salaries, the teachers have to work in poor conditions and often find themselves at the mercy of petty administrative officials and local politicians. In other words, the school teachers' desire for a higher status is simply a desire for a salary and working conditions that can save him from humiliation and indignities suffered so often.

5.14 There is enough research evidence to suggest that of the many considerations that influence the career choices of the intending teachers, salary levels are the most important. The level of the starting salary in relation to the starting salaries in other

1 Status of eachers in India-prepared by E. W. Franklin, WCOTP, 16A/10 Western Extension Area, New Delhi. 1967.

26 THE TEACHER AND SOCIETY

careers is particularly crucial in determining the quality of recruitment to the teaching profession. Kothari Commission was prefectly right in treating the welfare measures for teachers as "transitional measures" and did not think the "emphasis on such marginal benefits" was the right approach. "The best course would be to pay teachers adequately so that no special benefits of this type need be offered".

5.15 The teachers' dissatisfaction with their salaries is well known. The Central and State Governments have been anxious to do something in the matter right from the inauguration of the Fifth Five Year Plan. The Union Ministry of Education, for instance, had offered at that time to contribute 50 per cent of the extra expenditure incurred by States in raising the salaries of primary school teachers. By the end of the Second and Third Plans, the pay scales of teachers had improved considerably in different States: but this brought no lasting benefit to the teachers because the gains were quickly neutralised by the rising prices.

Primary Teachers

5.16 Particularly bad in this regard has been the situation of the primary school teacher. The Commission's attention was drawn to the cruel fact that sometimes a primary teacher in India was given 1/12 or even 1/16 of the starting salary of a university teacher. It seems that the "Parity Principle" to which so much lip service is paid otherwise has still to be implemented in several parts of the country.

5.17 Two socioeconomic surveys of the status of the primary teacher in Gujarat and Mysore, among several others that have been carried out, from time to time in different parts of the country, spotlight the plight of the primary teacher. In a study1 of the pro- blem in Gujarat, where the sample of teacher, came from the Surat district, "Nearly ninety per cent of primary school teachers come from low socio-economic status. About three-fourths of teachers are reported to have an annual income of two to three thousand rupees while 23 per cent of them have less than two thousand rupees. 68 per cent of them have to be engaged in subsidiary occupation to supplement their income".

5.18 The Mysore Study2 came up with similar findings: (i) economic achievement is poor and unchanged over a number of years,

(ii) teachers in large number, come from families of low income group; their status was low and they belonged to their parents' class of society,

(iii) their restricted friendship with teachers in general and non-participation in the local bodies or community organisations made their recognition vague in the public".

Parity and other principles of pay fixation

5.19 Inspite of the measures taken by the Central and State Governments to make salary scales of teachers from one part of the country to another as comparable as possible, the situation is still full of glaring disparities. Let us take the Matriculate Trained Teacher (MTT), for instance, who constitutes nearly 87.1 per cent of the total number of school teachers in India. The starting salary (inclusive of allowances) for an MTT varies from Rs. 537 (Tamil Nadu) to Rs. 892 (Uttar Pradesh). The maximum of the salary scale varies from Rs. 775 (Assam) to Rs. 1507 (Punjab). While in Haryana an MTT takes 15 years to reach his maximum grade, in West Bengal, he needs 27 years to do so. The statistics speak for themselves.

5.20 However, despite the difficulties of interpreting and applying concretely concepts of 'adequacy'. 'parity' and 'comparability' in a given situation, there is a considerable measure of agreement about the broad principles that ought to guide the fixation of teachers' salaries. As suggested by the UNESCO, 1966 Intergovernmental Conference, teachers salaries should:

(a) reflect the importance to society of the teaching function and hence the importance of teachers as well as the responsibilities of all kinds which fall upon them from the time of their entry into the service;

(b) compare favourably with salaries paid in other occupations requiring similar or equivalent qualifications:

(c) provide teachers with the means to ensure a reasonable standard of living for themselves and their families as well as to invest in further education or in the pursuit of cultural. activities thus enhancing their professional qualifications:

(d) take account of the fact that certain posts require high qualifications and experience and carry greater responsibilities.

1 Primary School Teachers-a study. Y. D. Jadeja. The Centre for Regional Development Studies, Surat, 1969. pp. 7, as summarised in 'Research on Teachers in India-A Survey, (1966-1983) by N K. Jangira, L. C. Singh and Neerja Shukla, prepared for the National Commission on Teachers-I.

2 A Sociological Study of primary school teachers in Mysore City-Department of Post-Graduate Studies Research in Sociology, Wore, 1971-K. N. Venkataryappa Mukta, (Mysore University financed). as summarised in "Research on Teachers in India-A Survey (1966-1983) lbid.

THE STATUS, WORKING CONDITIONS AND WELFARE OF THE TEACHER 29

5.21 It has to be recognised that there is no one way of applying these principles. In view of the overall financial position of the country, the enormous differences in the resources available to different States, the large range of variations in the cost of living index from one part of the country to another and the other constraints of the situation, pay scales for teachers have differed from state to state. And yet, there is general agreement about the desirability of there being essentially one uniform pattern of pay scales, with such variations of course as are necessitated by differences in local conditions.

Uniform Pay-scales

5.22 In fact, the demand for uniform pay scales of teachers has been steadily gaining strength. In the Commission's own survey 92.2 per cent of teachers' organisations expressed themselves in favour of a common salary scale for elementary and secondary school teachers. While the proportions of primary and secondary teachers supporting this option were not as high, they were substantial : 52.1 per cent of the primary and 63.4 per cent of the secondary opting for a uniform pay-scale. In 1962, the Committee on Emotional Integration had emphasised that "it is of the utmost importance for the Central Government, as an earnest of its desire to help the State governments in improving the emoluments of teachers, to insist on a national scale. We are convinced that nothing short of this step will ensure the recruitment of suitable teachers for the country's schools". The All India Federation of Educational Associations has also been pursuing a similar goal. Recognising the difficulties created by disparate scales of pay for teachers when they perform identical functions, and considering also the great differences in 'the economic and financial conditions of the States, the Federation has been stressing "the immediate need for the establishment of minimum national scales of pay".

5.23 The Commission feels that a stage has been reached in the development of education in this country, when a bold decision must be taken in favour of replacing the present jungle of salary scales for teachers and educational administrators by composite running scales (See Appendix XIII (xvi). As a first step towards a composite national pay scale for all categories of teachers and educational administrators, the Central and the State governments should explore seriously the possibility of replacing the plethora of salary scale in each State by a single running pay scale. If this became national policy it would serve two important purposes:

(a) It would be a good answer to the problem of teacher stagnation which is the lot of such a large proportion of our primary and secondary teachers; and

(b) It would. go a long way in strengthening the solidarity of teachers all over the country as members of a common reaching Profession.

5.24 We recommend that as a matter of national policy, the existing pay-scales for teachers and educational administrators in a State should be replaced by a single running scale as early as possible. Such a step will go a long way in giving to the school teachers a status which is now lacking and without which he is not in a position to perform his functions effectively. We further recommend that where the implementation of this recommendation by a State government entails financial implications which it is unable to meet from its own resources, the Central Government should come forward to make good the leficit for the first five years of the reform.

5.25 As an illustration of the kind of running scale, we have in mind we would suggest a scale beginning with Rs. 500 as the starting salary of a primary teacher and ending with Rs. 3950 as the maximum of the grade for the State Director of Education. A diagramatic representation of the illustrative model is given below.

5.26 In further explanation of our recommendation we invite attention to the following features of the illustrative model: