BHUBANESWAR: Thousands of teachers and non-teaching employees from different schools and colleges across the state staged a massive protest here on Sunday seeking fulfilment of their various demands.
The teachers and employees under the banner of Odisha School College Shikshak O Karmachari Samanwaya Samiti (Teachers and Employees Coordination Committee) gathered at Mahatma Gandhi Marg, raising slogans and demanding immediate measures for fulfilment of their long-pending grievances.
Their demands included release of grants to all eligible schools, government takeover of grant-in-aid schools and colleges, implementation of old pension scheme and provision of pension and retirement benefits along with standardised service conditions for retired employees.
They also demanded six notional increments for contractual teachers appointed between 2004 and 2013, removal of discrepancies in grade pay and immediate recruitment to fill vacant posts in schools and colleges.
The teachers said many retired employees were facing severe financial difficulties in the absence of pension and other retirement benefits. They alleged that several of their demands had been pending for years despite repeated representations to the government.
Terming August 16 agitation as ‘Demand Day’, they said they would continue their movement until the government takes adequate steps to address their grievances.
