The State Government’s constant efforts to persuade the agitating para-teachers to join their duties at the respective districts has failed desolately as para-teachers are yet again all set to launch a massive protest against government’s apathy on January 5.

Several para-teachers carrying out the protest at the five commissionaires under different umbrella organisations of Jharkhand Para Teachers Sangh conducted a block level meeting on Sunday to draft a detailed strategy to intensify their remonstration from January first week.   

As per the agitating para-teachers until the State government is not ready to acknowledge their demands, the protest will continue for an uncertain period. In accordance to the discussions during the block level meet, the para-teachers will organise State-wide massive protest on January 5 – the day PM, Narendra Modi will visit Jharkhand.

“If our demands are not accepted, para-teachers residing at each block will stage a massive protest on January 5. We only want to conduct the meeting with Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

 As of now after conducting meeting with the Education Minister, no official statement from government’s side has been released, hence, looking at the State government’s indifference, we are reluctant to take this major step,” said a member of Ekikrit Para Sikshak Sangharsh Morcha (EPSSM), Bajrang Prasad.

“We are adamant over the demands of job-regularisation and ‘equal work for equal pay’ issue.

The block level meeting was conducted to draft further strategy. No para-teacher is ready to join the duty in accordance to the government’s condition. Another meeting is scheduled on January 2 at Morhabadi Ground,” Prasad further added.

The protesting para-teachers had recently conducted a dialogue with Education Minister, Neera Yadav with their list of demands; however, the meeting failed as government is not ready to accept their demands of job regularisation stating the pleas of additional financial burden.

Para-teachers have been demanding the regularisation of their services after the para – teachers in Chhattisgarh, Bihar and other States though have been appointed under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan (SSA) but after serving for eight years have been regularised as assistant teachers there.

Notably, around 67,000 para-teachers across the State are on an indefinite strike since mid-October forcing over more than 12,000 to 14,000 government schools to shut.

In September 2018, Chief Secretary (CS) Sudhir Tripathi met the para teachers’ association representatives where it was decided that the

State government will increase the honorarium of para teachers where over 56,000 para teachers was expected to get the benefit, creation of welfare funds including extension of validation of TET pass certificate from five years to seven years was also approved during the meeting then but the recommendations of the State government was rejected by the para-teachers.