'We've Been Abandoned... Byju’s Bankruptcy Has Left Teachers Like Me Jobless'

"I continued to take classes till 31 August even as my financial condition deteriorated," writes a Byju's teacher.

Thousands of Byju's employees have not received their salaries for months.

(Illustration: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

As Byju's faces insolvency proceedings, thousands of teachers like me are staring at joblessness after months of not receiving our salaries.

I am a teacher at Byju's in Mumbai – and I've been working with the edtech company for two and a half years. Till January 2024, everything was going smoothly – we were taking classes as per schedule, and our salaries were being credited to our bank accounts on time. However, all has not been well since then.

For the month of February 2024, I received only a partial salary payment even though my pay slip reflected the full amount. Despite this discrepancy, no official communication was provided by the company to clarify the issue, leaving me and many other employees with pending dues.

The amount was later disbursed by the company, but after that, the delay in our salaries became a consistent problem.

'We've No Idea if Our Lives Will Return to Normal'

In July, insolvency proceedings were initiated against Byju's for defaulting on dues amounting to around Rs 15,000 crore from various creditors. Since then, I have not received my salary.

Employees were asked to submit their documents related to unpaid salaries and other dues by 31 August.

Over non-payment of salaries, many teachers and other employees stopped working but I continued to take classes till 31 August even as my financial condition deteriorated and hit rock bottom.

In a desperate attempt to keep the morale of its employees afloat, the company’s founder, Byju Raveendran, sent out an emotionally charged email on 20 August 2024, urging employees to "stay motivated" while the company goes through the financial crisis. However, the company needs to understand that motivation alone cannot pay the bills or feed our families.

We have worked tirelessly to build Byju’s into what it is today, and now we’re left with nothing. How are we supposed to take care of our families? We feel abandoned. Our emails to the firm have gone unanswered, and any attempts to reach out to higher authorities unsuccessful.

We have not received any official communication from the company on our salaries. We have no idea when this deadlock will be resolved and when our lives will return to normal.

Many of us are facing eviction due to unpaid rent and have been struggling to pay our children’s school fees. These financial hardships have forced us to dig into our savings or take loans just to survive.

'Future of Parents in Jeopardy'

The issue has an equal bearing on the students studying at Byju’s who have been left in a quagmire. They have paid substantial amounts as fees, often running into lakhs, only to find themselves in a flux, with no apparent way out.

For many of them, that fee is a result of their parents’ years of hard work and savings spent in the hope of a bright future for their children.

“I’ve paid Rs 2 lakh for my son’s coaching. Now, there are no classes and no updates. I don’t know where to turn,” a parent from Delhi, who fears for her son’s future, told me.

'Please Expedite Insolvency Process'

Thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff work at Byju's. It’s not easy for all of us to find new jobs. I am trying to survive through private tutoring and freelance work, but this won’t keep me afloat in the long run.

We urge the government to intervene in this matter and work towards a speedy solution. I also request that the honourable Supreme Court to acknowledge our hardships and expedite the legal proceedings against Byju's.

It is a matter of grave human concern with the livelihood of thousands of employees and the careers of lakhs of students at stake.

(The above account was shared by a Byju's teacher on the condition of anonymity. The Quint has reached out to the edtech company on all the issues raised by him. The story will be updated as and when they respond.)

(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)