12 Kolkata: Several schools in Bengal are devising strategies to address the staff crisis following the removal of more than 7,000 personnel from state-aided schools. Schools are organising management committee meetings to find alternatives and solutions.
Various school administrators revealed their plans to retain former staff members as casual employees. A head teacher from central Kolkata said, "We planned to approach the existing lab assistant to continue till he gets a job. If he gives his consent, then we will call an internal meeting to provide him with a salary from the school fund."
A south Kolkata school administrator said, " We requested the existing staffer to continue his work now, for which we will offer an honorarium to him. But we know that compared to the govt job, this will be nothing, but he will be engaged here and could prepare for the exam."
While Group D staff typically receive a salary of around Rs 30,000 a month, if they were to be re-hired as casual employees, they would be offered significantly lower salary of around Rs 10,000. A headmistress said, "Our only lab assistant has a Master's degree. How could we offer her a lower salary?"
Many schools have scheduled management committee meetings next week to address the challenges. At Jodhpur Park Boys' School, the departure of their sole Group D staff member has created operational difficulties. Headmaster Amit Sen Majumder said, "We will hold a management committee meeting soon to find an alternative." Mira High School in Nadia has approached their recently retired Group D staff member for help. Headmaster Manik Paul said, "He is a local resident, so we requested him to help us."