Teachers’ Day overshadowed by protests & unresolved demands

ARINDAM GANGULY, OP

Bhubaneswar: As Odisha celebrates Teachers’ Day with tributes and felicitation programmes, a section of the state’s teaching community is using the occasion to highlight unresolved concerns over recruitment, vacant posts, service conditions and the dignity and safety of teachers. Teachers and aspirants under All Odisha Teachers Aspirants Association (AOTAA) have continued their agitation in Bhubaneswar and other parts of the state, demanding immediate steps to fill vacant teaching posts and address long-pending service-related issues. AOTAA president Swagat Das said recruitment remained a major concern and questioned the government’s claim of having recruited around 26,000 teachers since the BJP-led government assumed office in June 2024.

The agitators argued that several of the recruitment processes counted by the government were based on advertisements issued by the previous government and, therefore, should not be projected as fresh recruitment initiatives of the present administration. They further alleged that more than a year has passed since the government announced plans to recruit 45,000 teachers, but fresh recruitment advertisements for the posts were yet to be issued.

“Our main demand is teacher recruitment. The government had promised 45,000 teachers, including 15,000 every year. But thousands of posts are still vacant,” Das said. The protesters placed three major demands before the state government; immediate publication of recruitment advertisements for high school teachers, including physical education teachers, immediate recruitment against vacant primary teacher and special educator posts, and filling vacant teaching positions in Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas (OAVs) through fresh recruitment notifications. The association warned that the agitation would be intensified if the demands were not considered. For serving teachers, concerns extend beyond recruitment.

Teachers’ organisations have raised issues relating to pay discrepancies, pension benefits, job security and service conditions, particularly for contractual employees appointed in earlier periods. Ravenshaw University Teachers’ Association (RUTA) spokesperson Prof Netaji Abhinandan said teachers needed to be treated with respect and dignity and expressed concern over incidents involving teachers in colleges and universities. Speaking on the issue, Education Minister Nityananda Gond said, “The government is committed to filling vacant teaching posts and strengthening the education system through recruitment.”

In a statement here, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das said thousands of teachers and employees of government and private schools and colleges across the state had been continuing their non-cooperation agitation for more than 20 days following a call by the Odisha School and College Teachers and Employees Coordination Committee.

Bhakta warned that the party would launch a statewide agitation if the government failed to resolve the issues at the earliest. He alleged that while the government was announcing various initiatives aimed at transforming the education system, its failure to address the legitimate grievances of teachers and employees reflected a “double-standard” approach towards strengthening the sector. “The Congress stands with the teachers and employees who have taken to the streets to fight for their rights,” Bhakta said.