Teachers in ICSE schools who have completed in-service training are earning less than their colleagues with B.Ed degrees, allegedly because the board failed to get its course recognised.

Nearly 100 teachers from various city schools have complained verbally to the Delhi-based Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations about its “failure to tie up with a university”.

They are planning to write to the council regarding the matter.

The prospectus of the council’s course mentions that it is not equivalent to B.Ed. However, according to the teachers, the board authorities had assured them that the training would be recognised by a reputed university.

“The council has not taken a step in this regard,” alleged a teacher. He is one of the several hundreds who have completed the course in the past three years.

The fees for the course, divided into five modules of 15 days each, varies between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000. The modules can be completed independently, according to one’s convenience.

The teachers say the training is scientific and has helped them improve, but the gains have not translated into material benefits.

The state government refused to pay dearness allowance to teachers who had completed the council’s course but did not have the B.Ed degree. Even schools that do not depend on the government for funds are not paying these teachers on the same scale as those with B.Ed.

A teacher of an Anglo-Indian school in Entally said his colleague with B.Ed earns more than him. “I spend Rs 15,000 to complete the council’s course. Now, I am now forced to pursue B.Ed course at Indira Gandhi National Open University to improve my salary.”

An official of the school said: “Our institution depends on the state government for paying a portion of the teachers’ salaries. So, we have to abide by the government rules and instructions.”

The salary discrepancy has affected the popularity of the council course. “Many teachers would rather do a B.Ed than pursue our course, as it is not recognised,” said the principal of an ICSE school.

Gerry Arathoon, the additional secretary and the officiating chief executive of the council, said the teachers’ allegations were “baseless”. “We make it clear to the teachers when they enrol for the programme that it is an in-service value-added course and is not a substitute for a B.Ed degree.”

The purpose of the training and subsequent evaluation is to make teachers familiar with “contemporary and practical techniques in education which will help them comprehensively address the challenges of tomorrow” added Arathoon.