Relief likely for Shiksha Preraks as UP moves to clear honorarium dues

In a potential relief for nearly one lakh former Shiksha Preraks (education motivators) across Uttar Pradesh, the state government may soon release over ₹400 crore in long-pending honorarium dues under the Saakshar Bharat Mission.

These motivators, appointed on a contractual basis to promote literacy, have been awaiting payment since the scheme was discontinued by the centre nearly eight years ago, a senior official of the state education directorate said.

Anil Bhushan Chaturvedi, director of the literacy, alternative education, Urdu and oriental languages department, has directed officials across 60 districts, including District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) principals, Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (BSAs), and district inspectors of schools (DIoSs), to verify records and submit detailed data of those eligible to facilitate the payment process.

The order, dated March 26, mandates that officials submit the information within 15 days, in accordance with the block development-wise liabilities report prepared during the 2017-18 audit of the scheme, BSA (Prayagraj) Anil Kumar said.

The Saakshar Bharat Mission was launched by the centre in 2009-10 to boost literacy at the grassroots level. In Uttar Pradesh, it was implemented in several districts during 2011-12, while it began in Prayagraj in the 2013-14 academic session.

Under the programme, 99,482 Shiksha Preraks were deployed on contract across 49,921 Lok Shiksha Kendras, each receiving a monthly honorarium of ₹2,000. The scheme covered around five dozen districts, including Banda, Ballia, Aligarh, Kanpur Dehat, Varanasi, Agra, Mathura, Gorakhpur and Meerut, among others.

The primary responsibility of these motivators was to encourage people above the age of 15 to become literate. However, the scheme was discontinued on March 31, 2018, leaving a large number of them unpaid. In several districts, they did not receive honorarium for even a single month out of the 43-month period between August 2014 and March 2018.

In Prayagraj alone, 2,633 education motivators have not been paid honorarium for 38 months. In addition to literacy work, they were also engaged in duties such as booth-level officer (BLO) assignments, household surveys and implementation of other government schemes.

The issue escalated to the courts, with over 100 education motivators from Mirzapur filing petitions in both the Allahabad high court and its Lucknow bench, seeking release of their pending dues. In the Prayagraj division itself, more than ₹45 crore remains outstanding.

“I have waited for these dues for nearly eight years, often struggling to manage household expenses in the meantime. This is a positive step which can finally bring relief and restore our dignity and faith in the system,” a former Shiksha Prerak in Prayagraj said.