High school teacher gets a monthly salary of Rs 750

For over 30 years, there is no end to his woes even after Orissa High Court directive to sort out his problems.

Pramod Kumar Dash, music teacher of Mugupal High School under Rasulpur block has completed 30 years of service but the government is yet to hike his salary.

Kapilendra Mishra, Jajpur Circle Inspector of Schools, said Dash was appointed as a music teacher in the high school in 1980 on part time basis. It was necessitated following introduction of music as an optional subject in the school.

"The government had a road map for the part timers to gradually increase their wages and some of them have been converted to full timers drawing full scale salary as per trained matric teacher scale," Mishra said.

The official admitted that Pramod is getting a paltry salary but could not cite reason.

"I am discharging same duty like permanent teachers but draw much less salary compared to them," said Dash.

"Discrimination is meted out to me but some of my colleagues in the state are drawing full salary," he alleged.

Stating that music teachers appointed in 1998 are drawing full scale salary, Dash alleged that a raw deal is being meted out to him though he put in three decades of service.

The teacher approached Orissa High Court for justice and got a ray of hope in 1999, when the High Court directed the government to settle his case within three months.

"It is now over a decade since I launched my protest, but none in the government bothered about me," he rued.

Sympathetic to the cause of the music teacher, head master of the high school, Sadananda Guru called for rationalization of pay scale as it is over due.