Chennai: Temporary teachers appointed under the Integrated School Education (ISE) scheme in early childhood education centres functioning on government school campuses across Tamil Nadu have urged the State government to revise their monthly honorarium and provide service-linked benefits.

More than 3,000 teachers handle LKG and UKG classes under the scheme. Their official working hours are from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. However, teachers in several districts, including Dharmapuri and Salem, allege that they are compelled to work beyond the stipulated hours.

Teachers said they are often assigned additional responsibilities, such as managing Class 1 students in the absence of primary teachers and assisting with office work. Despite the expanded workload, they receive a consolidated monthly payment of Rs 5,000 through electronic transfer.

Although the scheme allows one day of casual leave per month for those who work the full month, teachers claim that many schools deny even this entitlement and deduct salary for any absence.

Most of the teachers possess Primary Education Diploma qualifications. A single teacher is often required to manage both LKG and UKG sections, except in a few schools with higher enrolment where extra staff have been sanctioned. They also pointed out that those appointed in 2022 and earlier have not received any increment so far.

The teachers have appealed to the government to revise their pay, introduce annual increments based on years of service, and recognise their long-term contribution to early childhood education.