Bhubaneswar: More than 30,000 school teachers and employees from 2,608 schools held a protest march from Lower PMG to Naveen Niwas here Tuesday demanding abolition of the block grant system.
However, teaching in schools has not been affected, claimed some teachers, pointing out that the School Teachers Federation of Orissa (STFO) has asked some of its members to continue teaching as teachers have a responsibility towards students.
“We are protesting very vehemently. However, students are not being affected as some of our members are taking classes. We have done this to ensure that we fulfil our responsibilities towards our students,” said Prasant Kumar Jena, a teacher from Ganjam and a member of STFO.
However, many teachers warned that the education system will suffer if the department continues its lukewarm response to the teachers’ demands. “We have been for the last three years demanding the abolition of the block grant system. The grant-in-aid policy of 2013 has damaged the teaching and non teaching sector. So the government must cancel this policy and must consider the old education policy of 1994,” said Rajendra Nayak , a teacher from Keonjhar.
“However, if the government continues its lukewarm attitude all our members will join the strike and this will affect the future of more than four lakh students,” Nayak said. STFO will intensify the strike in the coming days if the government ignores the demand of the teachers, said the chief convenor of the association, Prakash Chandra Mohanty.
“We want the block grant system abolished. We are working without a regular payscale, social security and other benefits. If the government continues to ignore our demands all our members will join the protest and it will create problems in the education system of the state,” said Mohanty. PNN