Odia teachers in J’khand work sans salaries

Keonjhar: Odia teachers working to preserve the language in remote areas of neighbouring Jharkhand continue without salaries, allegedly due to apathy by the Odisha government. With the Jharkhand government not recruiting Odia teachers, many are engaged through Utkal Sammilani and receive a monthly honorarium of Rs 3,000, or Rs 30,000 rupees annually.

Educational inspectors are paid Rs 5,000 per month. Teachers say it is difficult to survive on such meager pay, but they continue their efforts to protect the Odia language and culture. They said their contributions in preserving Odia language and culture in cut-off areas have been overlooked, particularly when it comes to payment.

In East Singhbhum district, 54 teachers are working in 29 schools; in Seraikela-Kharsawan, 58 teachers in 52 schools; and in West Singhbhum, 42 teachers in 39 schools, teaching Odia as a mother tongue. They have been working under Odisha’s School and Mass Education Department for the past 22 years.

However, they have not received financial assistance since the 2021-22 fiscal year, leading to severe hardship in managing their livelihoods. Although the government increased the monthly honorarium to Rs 4,500 for teachers and Rs 6,500 for inspectors for 2023- 24, payments remain pending, they said. Demanding release of arrears and a salary increase, Odia teachers from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh met School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond March 19 and submitted a memorandum.

Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, during a visit to Jagannathpur in Jharkhand, announced a monthly grant of Rs 6,000 for 12 months for Odia teachers in Odia-majority areas and clearance of pending dues by September 30, 2024. In their memorandum, the teachers sought immediate payment of arrears for 2021-22, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Teachers in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh also said they have not received financial assistance for the past three years. Despite completion of a survey, dues remain unpaid, they said. Among those raising the demands are Ritarani Dubey, Laxmipriya Mishra, Anita Puraset, Subhadra Mistry, Pranab Kumar Upadhyay, Bharat Mishra, Ramesh Chandra Pradhan, inspector Sushil Sarangi and Jayaramdas Patra, among others.