Bengaluru: Special educators protest at Freedom Park demanding equal pay and basic support

Over 2,500 special teachers, staff, children and parents rally in Bengaluru seeking long-pending justice

Bengaluru’s Freedom Park witnessed a large-scale protest on Tuesday as special educators and non-teaching staff working with children with disabilities staged a demonstration demanding long-pending reforms in special education across Karnataka.

The protest was organised by the Karnataka State Special Teachers and Non-Teaching Staff Association, under the banner of the Karnataka State Teachers and Non-Teaching Employees Federation. The demonstrators urged the state government to address critical issues affecting special schools, including lack of basic facilities, insufficient funding, and wide wage disparities.

The agitation was led by association president Kanthi Harish, along with senior office-bearers Somanath Mahajan Shettar and General Secretary Vasanth Kumar. Thousands of teachers joined the protest, raising slogans and expressing anger over demands that have remained unresolved for decades.

Participants included more than 2,500 special educators, non-teaching staff, children with disabilities, and their parents, who had travelled from various districts across Karnataka to take part in the protest at Freedom Park.

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A major concern raised during the demonstration was the huge pay gap between teachers working in government-aided special schools and those employed in NGO-run institutions. While teachers in government-funded special schools reportedly earn monthly salaries ranging from ₹60,000 to ₹80,000, educators working in NGO-managed special schools receive only a fixed honorarium of ₹20,250 per month. This has created a salary difference of nearly ₹40,000.

Association leaders warned that this disparity is discouraging qualified and experienced teachers from joining NGO-run special schools, seriously affecting the quality of education provided to children with special needs.

The protesters demanded that teachers working in NGO-managed special schools be paid salaries on par with those in government-aided institutions. They also highlighted the alarming situation of special schools across the state.

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According to the association, Karnataka has around 250 special schools, but only 180 receive government grants, while the remaining nearly 70 schools operate without any government support, a situation the organisers described as deeply concerning.

The association leaders cautioned that if the government fails to act on their demands, they would be forced to intensify their protest in the coming days.