BENGALURU: As the state government prepares to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) in Anganwadis, workers will be completing a week of their protest on Monday in the city.
Over 30,000 workers have been protesting across the state. Freedom Park has been witnessing protests since Monday by workers, demanding a salary hike, the status of primary school teachers and a retirement fund. The agitators have vowed to remain on indefinite strike unless the demands are met for at least 36,000 workers. This is their second protest in January. On January 19, after the workers protested, Women and Child Development Minister Halappa Achar heard their demands.
The protest comes after the School Education and Literacy department stated that they would be implementing the NEP this academic year, as early as February. Even with a majority of Anganwadi workers protesting, they claimed the government has not intervened.
An education department official said that the issue is more complicated as the primary school teachers are more qualified than Anganwadi workers. “The teachers are selected through a recruitment process and need to have certain qualifications before becoming a primary school teacher. Hence, the issue is more complicated. There is a need for a different status for the Anganwadi workers based on their qualifications,” the official said.