PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 4 -- In a major relief to women educators, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced six months (180 days) of paid maternity leave for contractual Sanskrit teachers working in government-aided Sanskrit colleges and secondary schools across the state. Introduced during Navratri, the decision has been welcomed as a festive gift for hundreds of female teachers who had earlier been denied this benefit. The decision, taken after a gap of four years, will benefit over 1,000 contractual teachers currently working in 403 government-aided Sanskrit colleges and 570 secondary Sanskrit schools in the state. Until now, these teachers were entitled only to 10 days of casual leave per year, with no provision for maternity or other long-term leave, officials said. The revised government order was issued on September 29 by Parth Sarthi Sen Sharma, Principal Secretary (Secondary Education). Following this, deputy director of Sanskrit Education, Ramajya Kumar, has directed all divisional joint education directors and district inspectors of schools (DIoSs) to implement the revised rules immediately. Previously, in cases of unauthorised absence-even after warnings-the institution management committees had the authority to recommend termination of services to the director of secondary education. This new order brings parity with the basic education department, where women Shiksha Mitras (education volunteers) and part-time instructors are already entitled to six months of paid maternity leave, stated officials. Earlier this year, on April 25, the Uttar Pradesh government had also approved a hike in the honorarium of Sanskrit teachers. Teachers at the Purva Madhyama (high school) level saw an increase from Rs.12,000 to Rs.20,000 per month, while Uttar Madhyama (intermediate) teachers' honorarium was raised from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000 per month. The recruitment of contractual Sanskrit teachers began in 2021 due to the non-appointment of regular teachers, which was affecting academic activities in Sanskrit schools. On March 13, 2018, the state government amended the 2009 rules, transferring the authority for appointments in government-aided Sanskrit secondary schools to the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Services Selection Board....