Bhubaneswar: The protesting block grant teachers of schools and colleges Wednesday announced that their agitation will continue till a permanent solution to their demands is reached.
The teachers and employees of 4,000 schools and 1,500 colleges are sitting on dharna at the Mahatma Gandhi Marg here since August 16 demanding fulfillment of their seven-point charter of demands.
The teachers under the aegis of All Odisha School-College Teachers and Employees United Forum are demanding abolition of block grant, full grant without any condition, better service conditions and pension benefits among others.
Though the state government had last year announced that it would abolish the block grant system and introduce grant-in-aid (GIA) system, the administration had diluted the GIA policy and their demands were not fulfilled, the outfit alleged.
These demands were discussed at the ministerial-level meeting chaired by Finance Minister S B Behera Tuesday evening. However, the meeting remained inconclusive.
“The government is considering the demands of the teachers sympathetically. Another meeting of the committee will be convened soon,” Behera said. He requested the block grant teachers to withdraw the strike and resume their duties.
However, the agitators decided to continue their strike till all their demands are met. “We will take a decision August 24. We hope that the government will fulfill our demands by then,” said Golak Nayak, a leader of the body.
“The agitation will continue till a permanent solution is reached,” said Pabitra Mahala, convener of the united forum.
Asked about the study of students, Nayak said, “Some teachers are in schools and colleges as some others are participating in the dharna on rotation basis.”