More than 300 special educators and resource teachers, in dire straits due to lack of salary revision, have launched a campaign on Twitter to draw the attention of the state government towards their plight. The scheme was conceived of to provide training and education to physically and mentally impaired students of government schools. They have been employed in different centres under the Inclusive Education Programme.

Jay Prakash, a resource teacher at Simdega said, “At a time when the price rise is at its peak, it's very difficult to manage the family expense with such a meagre income. So we have launched the campaign on Twitter to seek help from concerned authorities to mitigate our peril."

So dismal is the scenario that they are paid even less than the peons of government schools. The financial crisis is proving more pinching for them during the pandemic when these centres are shut and they are required to spend more in terms of smart phones and internet from their limited salary of around Rs 17,500 per month for conducting online classes.

Talking to The Telegraph Online today, Akhlaque Ahmad, a special educator of a Jharia-based resource centre launched in 2005, said, "I joined the centre in 2010 at Rs 1300 per month and at that time our salary was even better than that of the Block Programme Officer. However we have been left behind on the periodic salary revision front with he drawing Rs 40,000 against our Rs 17,500 per month. Every year, including last year, salary revision is mooted but not implemented causing mental agony to us along with financial constraints.”

"In distress, one of the special educators in the Simdega district, Sanjay Tuddu committed suicide four years ago leaving his wife and two children in the lurch," added Manoj Singh, a physiotherapist in Jharia.

He added that apathy towards the education of these special kids is evident from the fact that even the number of resource centres is inconsistent vis-a-vis that of the students - only three teachers are on the job at Jharia to teach over 485 students.

"Instead of one centre in each education block, the government should have appointed a teacher in every government school because at block level centres many of the parents cannot afford to send their children owing to the distance,” added Singh.