Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 13: Demanding regularisation of their jobs, thousands of contractual teachers (gana sikshyaks) Wednesday unsuccessfully tried to lay siege to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence, Naveen Niwas. However, police prevented their march at Sishu Bhawan square, well over 1000 metres away.
More than 5,000 teachers, congregating from various parts of the state, took part in the protest march from Lower PMG square and staged a dharana at Sishu Bhwan square. The police also arrested several agitating teachers who courted arrest and tried to break the cordon.
The teachers who claimed they had more than six years’ service have been agitating in the city since December 22 demanding regularisation of their services.
Threatening to continue their strike until their demands are conceded, teachers’ association president Sarat Chandra Nayak said an inter-ministerial committee has submitted its recommendations to the CM for his approval.
“We are completely in the dark about the decision taken at the ministerial sub-committee regarding our employment. Our chief demand is regularisation of services of teachers who have completed six years’ service,” he asserted.
The state government should understand with humanity how hundreds of teachers, including women with children in their arms, sat on dharna braving winter nights under open sky at PMG square, Nayak said.
The strike would continue until the chief minister met their demands, an agitated teacher said, adding, the government has also been playing with the lives of students as their classes have disrupted due to the ongoing strike.
“As per the Right to Education Act, teachers should be trained to become eligible for regularisation. The government had passed a Resolution in 2013 to regularise services of eligible teachers. The inter-ministerial committee, constituted by the CM, suggested relaxation of norms for regularising their jobs,” school and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra told mediapersons.
“Unfortunately, teachers are on protest mode though the government has been taking steps to resolve their issues,” the minister said, adding, “The state government cannot fulfil all their demands.”
Later in the evening, representatives of the teachers met UN Behera, additional chief secretary to the CM, but the discussions remained inconclusive.
