VISAKHAPATNAM: Demanding that their pleas pertaining to transfer counseling be resolved, the unmarried teachers and those whose wives are not in the teaching profession have formed a ‘non-spouse teachers’ union’ (NSTU). The association seeks equal justice to the single teachers in the transfer counseling process.In the wake of the GO and announcement of the detailed schedule of transfer, a section of teachers who were distressed with the government and the attitude of the existing teachers’ unions formed the new body to get a fair deal.
ASN Raju, a primary teacher in GK Veedhi Mandal for 10 years, wants a transfer to an urban area for treatment of his parents and his children’s education. Under the transfer points system, he has got five preferential points (half point for every one year of service), while VS Lakshmi whose spouse is a teacher, got 10 points because she has the advantage of the “spouse case” priority.
“When the counseling begins, Lakshmi will definitely get a better place of posting than me,” says Raju. Thousands of the non-spouse/unmarried teachers have been crying foul over the system for years and now, they have formed a new union to fight for their cause. There are nearly 14,000 teachers in the district. Nearly 5,000 of them come from the ‘non-spouse’ category and the majority of them allege that they are getting a raw deal in the preferential points allotment process.
Dharna planned on July 5
The union was established by Prakasam district non-spouse teachers and now headed by P Hanumantha Rao and the state body was also constituted. All the district units planned to stage a dharna in the Capital on July 5. “As the Government has released the new transfer counseling schedule, the state body will take a call on this. We are waiting for the leader’s directions,” said VS Rama Devi, vice-president of the NSTU. “Almost 60 to 70 percent of the teachers fall under the non-spouse category and all expressed a similar opinion. Our main demand is cancellation of the present system or sanctions the same points to all the non-spouse teachers too,” explained Ch Neeladri Rao, the district secretary.