One of the defining characteristics of the sputtering Indian education system is to launch enterprises of great pith and moment whose currents are allowed to run awry because of implementation failure. A live example are Karnatakas 394 Shri Morarji Desai and 114 Rani Chennamma Residential schools, promoted to provide free-of-charge class VI-X education to scheduled caste (SC), scheduled tribe (ST) and other backward caste (OBC) students in the rural hinterland of the state (pop. 59 million).Modelled after the Central government-promoted 600 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya rural residential schools, the first Morarji Desai and Rani Chennamma schools were inaugurated with much fanfare by the Congress-led Veerappa Moily government in 1992. Since then, their number has risen to 394 and 114 respectively with an aggregate enrolment of 98,500 students instructed by 4,000 teachers, including 700 ‘contract teachers. That despite a plethora of politically correct legislation, SC, ST and OBC children (and adults) continue to suffer routine and cruel discrimination at the hands of upper caste Hindus in rural — especially village — India is a social reality which few apart from politicians bother to deny. Therefore it made good sense — and excellent vote-bank politics — to establish all-found residential secondary (class VI-XII) schools for their brightest and best children. But after they were constructed at approximately Rs.2 crore each, successive state governments have neglected — rather than celebrated — these secondary schools. Last month on May 5, these state government-funded schools were once again in the spotlight when over 700 ‘contract teachers/principals and non-teaching staff staged a protest rally before the Town Hall in Bangalore demanding immediate regularisation of their services and withdrawal of a government order calling for applications for new ‘permanent teachers positions in the Morarji Desai and Rani Chennamma schools. The recruitment order dated April 27 directs all new applicants and the 700-plus contract teachers/principals to write a competitive examination to be held on July 24-27, in which in-service contract teachers will be given a weightage of five marks. Since promulgation of the order, the 700-plus contract teachers represented by the Karnataka Rajya Samyukta Naukarara Sangha (KRSNS) have been up in arms against the state government. Their contention is that they have been appointed after clearing the govern-ments recruitment procedure and its unfair to put them through the grind again. According to B. Thippeswamy, district convener of the KRSNS, the new recruitment order will jeopardise the careers of thousands of contract teachers. I urge the government to regularise the services of contract teachers and withdraw the recruitment order with immediate effect, Thippeswamy told mediapersons at the protest rally. Certainly contract teachers have a legitimate grievance. For over 12 years, their remuneration has been half of permanent teachers doing the same work in the very same schools. They are paid a mere Rs.6,500 per month against Rs.13,000 paid to permanent teachers. Likewise, permanent principals are paid Rs.16,000 while those on contract receive Rs.8,000. Moreover during the April-May summer vacation, contract teachers and principals dont get paid at all. The root…
