Teachers wait for 9 months of late payment for exam assessments in Madhya Pradesh

Indore: Teachers who evaluated the answer sheets of students of classes 10 and 12 for the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) are still waiting for their payment, even nine months after finishing their duties.
A sum of Rs 41,39,680 is pending in Indore district alone, with teachers also waiting for their travel allowance (TA).
This delay is not isolated to Indore; several districts across the state are facing similar issues. Payments were only made to districts with lower outstanding amounts. Teachers express their frustration and many of them describe the situation as unacceptable. Dinesh Parmar, spokesperson for the Government Teachers’ Association, said, “Teachers are unhappy with the prolonged delay. Every year, the assessment remuneration was deposited in the teachers’ accounts much before Diwali.”
The Indore District Assessment Center has been established at Malav Kanya Government Higher Secondary School, Moti Tabela. More than 1,000 teachers were tasked with evaluating answer sheets for the 2023-24 school year. Among them, 582 teachers assessed the class 10 papers, while 411 teachers handled the class 12 papers.
The payment structure allocates Rs 15 per class 10 answer sheet and Rs 16 per class 12 answer sheet. For Indore, this works out to Rs 23.72 lakh for class 10 assessments and Rs 17.81 lakh for class 12 assessments. A total of 2.68 lakh answer sheets were evaluated, but the teachers did not receive their due remuneration.
Teachers said that in previous years, assessment payments were usually made before Diwali. However, despite assurances, this year’s payments remain pending, even weeks after the festival. Director Babita Aarohi, head of the assessment center, said, “Invoices for assessor payments were sent to the regional office about a month ago. The amount will be disbursed once the funds are released by the board of directors.
This delay aroused resentment among teachers. If payments are not made this week, the Government Teachers’ Association plans to escalate the situation by meeting the Parliamentary Council Chairman, Secretary, Divisional Commissioner and Collector.
Parliamentary Council officials said the remuneration was in progress. “There are some questions in the bills. We have sent the bills back for clarification. The remuneration will be paid soon,” said Devendra Sonwane, divisional officer of the Board of Deputies.