Teachers in Odisha to take agitation to panchayat level
BHUBANESWAR:Thousands of block-grant teachers, who are on protest for over a month seeking fulfilment of their demands, have decided to intensify it and take the agitation to panchayat level from Monday.
“We have planned panchayat level protest from Monday and it will continue till September 19,” said Odisha School College Teachers’ and Employee’s United Forum leader Golak Nayak, adding that demonstration will be staged in front of Government offices in panchayats.Nayak also said on September 20, the forum has planned another ‘Mahasamabesh’ and asked all 60,000 block-grant teachers to join it at Mahatma Gandhi Road here.
The school and college teachers are on agitation from August 16 seeking benefits of 7th pay Commission, service condition and job regularisation among others under the new Grant-in-Aid (GIA) system which was introduced by the State Government last year by abolishing the block-grant system.
The agitating teachers have also stopped joining schools from September 6, despite the salary-cut order. The School and Mass Education department had directed them to take necessary steps to check attendance of all teachers and ensure that those who have remained absent without permission or proper ground do not get salary for the days of absence.
On the other hand, the Inter-Ministerial Committee, which has convened its meeting thrice to find a solution to their demands and placate their agitation, has failed to do so.Stating that both School and Mass Education and Higher Education departments have miserably failed in addressing teachers’ demands, Nayak said they have now sought immediate intervention of Chief Minster Naveen Patnaik into the matter.