Over One lakh Primary Teachers Stage Massive Protest In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Amid a prevailing cold wave in Odisha, thousands of thousands of state government teachers staged a massive demonstration at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

The demonstration was staged under the banner of the NPS Secondary Teachers’ Association. The protesting teachers have long been protesting against the government’s contractual recruitment process.

Their other demands included an increment to teachers who were appointed since 2001 and the reimplementation of the old pension scheme.

When the recruitment of teaching assistants started in the state of Odisha in 2001, these teachers started working for only Rs.1500 per month.

They have been demanding equal pay for equal work. Their demand is an increase in their grade pay from Rs 1900 to Rs 4200.

After six years, these teaching assistants were given the status of regular teachers. In addition, these primary teachers have complained that they are paid less than high school teachers despite having the same educational qualifications.

Speaking to media persons, a protesting teacher, Rajendra Kumar of Jagatisinghpur said, “We have been deprived of our dues. The first demand in the protest by the primary teachers association is to consider the six-year period of appointment as a teaching assistant as a regular appointment and give increments for the same.”

“Similarly, the second demand is to pay the salary which is equivalent to the central scales and the third demand is to implement the old pension policy instead of the new pension policy,” he said.

They alleged that the Odisha government had promised them to do away with the contractual appointment system and regularize the jobs of all the teachers at the higher secondary schools who had joined after 2004. But the government went back on its promise.