MCD is neither giving salary to teachers nor renewing their contracts: AAP MLA Atishi

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New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has exposed the exploitative model of governance that the BJP has imposed upon the MCD. AAP MLA Atishi said that all the contractual teachers of South MCD have not received their salaries since April 2020 and nor are their contracts being renewed. 

The situation has become so bad that two teachers committed suicide due to depression, he said, adding that these people appealed to the Delhi government for help and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has assured help to all the teachers. 

AAP SDMC Leader of Opposition Prem Chauhan, however, said that the Mayor says that this time more than one lakh admissions have been done but who will teach these children when you do not have teachers?

Issuing a statement on Wednesday, senior AAP leader and MLA Atishi said, "there are around 550 contractual teachers in South Delhi Municipal Corporation. These contractual teachers have not received their salaries since April 2020. Now the situation has become such that 2 teachers have committed suicide due to depression which is unfortunate and shameful. The BJP does not have staff to take online classes, but at the same time neither the contract of these teachers is being renewed nor are they being given salaries".

Atishi further said, "all the teachers met the AAP South MCD Leader of Opposition Prem Chauhan after feeling helpless. They later came, and met me, and today with our support these people also met the Deputy Chief Minister. They put forth their problems that and told him how these people have been working in MCD for 15 years, but when the difficult times of COVID came, the South MCD did not give them any attention. These people kept waiting for hours in front of the mayor’s office. But they didn't hear them. MCD made them run from pillar to post but still, they have not received their salary from April 2020 till today".

According to Atishi, "So today these people came to meet Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to request that the Delhi government should help them. They have understood that South MCD is not going to help them. The Deputy Chief Minister has said that he will go to the depths of the issue and figure out whether they can be helped through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan since all the people are associated with South MCD. He said that he will explore all ways in which they can be helped."

Throwing light on this issue, AAP's Leader of Opposition of South Delhi Municipal Corporation Prem Chauhan said, "when South MCD Mayor Mukesh Suryan refused to solve the problem of teachers, the chairman of the education committee was also present back then. He himself knew what the problem was with the teachers and how it could be solved. But South MCD does not want to help these people. Until recently, all teachers were being paid salaries. But now these people do not want to pay salary. They do not want to help these teachers in any way."

Prem Chauhan said, "for about 15-20 years these people are working in MCD. But now suddenly during Corona, when they needed money the most, MCD refused to help them. Now the mayor says that this time more than one lakh admissions have been done. But we fail to understand that who will teach the new admissions they have made when they do not have teachers."

He further said, "the number of teachers is too huge. But when the mayor refused to help, these people came to me. Being the Leader of Opposition, I felt that I should help them. Therefore, taking the initiative as my responsibility, I got them to meet with the Delhi government. After which today they had a conversation with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Ji. He has assured help to the teachers. He has said that since these people are not employees of the Delhi government, these people are directly related to South MCD, so the Delhi government cannot help directly. However, the Delhi government has helped in paying the salaries of all the teachers. Apart from this, the Deputy CM has said that we will do whatever help is possible from us under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan."

Chauhan added that "after the assurance of the Deputy Chief Minister, now we hope that all the teachers will get help. But this responsibility was of South Delhi Municipal Corporation. In which they have completely failed."