Mumbai: Dark shadow over night schools as 150 teachers are laid off

Barely hours after senior BJP MLA Vinod Tawde said that night schools would not be shut down, the teachers’ association Shikshak Bharti informed mid-day that over 150 teachers have been laid off this month from night schools across the city

Barely hours after senior BJP MLA Vinod Tawde said that night schools would not be shut down, the teachers’ association Shikshak Bharti informed mid-day that over 150 teachers have been laid off this month from night schools across the city. Mumbai is home to about 132 night schools, which cater to over 10,000 students. These students are children who work part-time during the day or beg on the streets. Earlier in July, Principal Secretary of Maharashtra School Education Mr Nandkumar had commented on the necessity of shutting down night schools, following which, teachers organised a rally, Torch Morcha, on August 1. Following the agitations, Tawde on Friday assured that night schools would not be shut down. The layoffs, however, suggest that these institutions may gradually be forced to close shop. Ankush Jagdaale, from the NGO Masoom which works with 60 night schools here, said, “Education department officials say night schools have a limited number of students, but that’s because their registration system is faulty. If a 19-year-old seeks admission in Standard 8, he is not admitted because of age restrictions.”

There are close to 132 night schools in the city

Sources say the education board has been allotting teachers following the day school model. Santosh Kumar, a teacher at Prerna Night School, Govandi, said, “The board allots one teacher for every 30 students, which means if there aren’t enough students in night schools, the government won’t provide teachers at all. How is that logical?” Echoing similar views, Jagdaale said, “If these schools are shut, numerous dreams will be shattered.”

Teachers’ woes
Not just students, teachers who survive solely on salaries provided by night schools will be affected. “The previous government didn’t have a problem with night schools? We will keep going to school till the authorities make an official statement,” said Sukhdeo Kambhle of New Era Night School, Chembur. Tawde, however, remained unavailable for comment.

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