NEW DELHI: In a significant development for the education sector, a high-level meeting was held at the Delhi Secretariat on Wednesday evening to address the pressing concerns of government school teachers.
The meeting, chaired by Education Minister Ashish Sood, saw the active participation of Member of Parliament Yogendra Chandolia, along with senior education officials including the Education Secretary, Director of Education, Additional Directors and the Director of SCERT.
Ajay Veer Yadav, General Secretary of the Government School Teachers’ Association (GSTA), raised the issue of unconstitutional transfer of 5,006 teachers in recent years—a decision that had deeply affected the teaching community. He reminded those present that it was only due to the timely intervention of the former Lieutenant Governor and BJP leadership that such transfer orders were eventually revoked.
Yadav also brought to light the struggles of guest and vocational teachers. He emphasised the need for a salary hike and job security for guest teachers and demanded the reinstatement and payment of dues to vocational instructors, many of whom were issued termination orders during summer vacations—orders that were later withdrawn under pressure.
“In a move that could bring hope to many, the Education Minister expressed openness to adopting the Haryana model to enhance guest teachers’ salaries. He also promised a review of past decisions affecting vocational teachers and committed to finding swift resolutions,” said GSTA in an official statement.
General Secretary Yadav also submitted a 25-point memorandum listing GSTA’s major demands. These included reforms in the Post Fixation Committee (PFC), changes to the annual transfer policy, disbursal of pending tablet reimbursements, restoration of the Employee Charter, resolution of promotion bottlenecks, and addressing the concerns of lab assistants and librarians. He stressed the need for timely delivery of service-related benefits to all teaching staff.
However, it was the long-pending GSTA elections that stood out as a major point of concern. Teachers have been awaiting these elections for years, and Minister Sood’s clear assurance that they would be conducted soon brought a wave of optimism to the gathering.