40k primary guest faculty in govt schools await 4-month pay in Karnataka

Mangaluru: More than 40,000 guest teachers in Karnataka's primary schools have not received their honorarium for four months, causing severe financial strain. They say they perform duties comparable to permanent staff but remain vulnerable to recurring delays.The govt recently cleared pending honorarium for high school guest teachers, but primary school teachers say they have been left out, with no clarity on when payments will resume. Many said the last credited amount was for Oct, and payments stopped from Nov.A guest teacher from Bantwal, who has served for 15 years, said the delay forced them to borrow to meet routine expenses. "As there was no salary paid for four months, I was forced to borrow money from others to meet my financial commitments. It happened every year, and yet guest faculty who worked just like permanent teachers faced the same agony every academic year, but there was no permanent solution," the teacher said.Another teacher questioned the lack of financial planning. "We were only paid for 10 months in a year. The govt was aware of the number of guest faculty recruited every year and the finances required; why did the govt not earmark the finances required in advance?" the teacher said, contrasting their situation with permanent staff who receive regular pay.Chitralekha K, state president of Primary and High School Guest Teachers Association, Dakshina Kannada, said payments were made consistently from June to Oct and then halted. She said many teachers have slipped into debt, struggling to meet basic needs and repay self-help group loans. She added that guest teachers' work remains unrecognised despite matching the workload of permanent teachers.Shashidhar GS, deputy director of public instruction (DDPI), Dakshina Kannada, confirmed the clearance of pending honoraria for high school guest teachers and said funds for primary school guest teachers had not yet been received.Vikas Kishor Suralkar, commissioner for school education, was not available for comment.