Dress code and transfer act would be on top of the agenda of different teacher organisations in the meeting with the State Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. The CM has invited leaders of all organisations of teachers for talks on Tuesday. The meeting assumes significance in the wake of bad blood between the state government and teachers on a variety of issues like dress code and education department’s insistence that teachers should reside in eight kilometre periphery of the school they are posted in. Apart from these issues the perennial issue of transfers would be in focus during these talks.
The President of the Rajekeeya Shikshak Sangh (RSS), the association of government school lecturers and lecturer Teachers (lT), Ram Singh Chauhan said that the implementation of transfer act in the education department would be on top of the agenda of the association. He said that only a transparent and inclusive transfer act could solve the perennial issue of problems and unending allegations of irregularities in the transfers.
The General Secretary of the Prathemik Shiksak Sangh (PSS), the powerful association of primary school teachers, Digvijay Singh Singh said that the association would put forward the issues pertaining to primary teachers in the meeting. Though the teacher organisations are downplaying it but it is certain the issue of dress code would figure prominently during the talks.
The Education Minister, Arvind Pandey has repeatedly said in the past that teacher will have to wear the prescribed dress code while coming to the school. On his orders the education department decided the dress code and set up August 01 as the deadline from which the teachers were expected to wear the dress code. This order however met with contempt from the teachers and almost all teachers made it a point not to wear the prescribed dress code. As per the departmental order the male teachers should wear dark sky blue shirt and steel grey trouser in the schools while female teachers should wear Sky blue Sari or Salwar suit.
Besides the dress code the teachers are also agitated on the departmental directive that they should compulsorily reside within a radius of eight kilometres from the school they are posted in.
Apart from common issues like transfer act, dress code and place of residence of teachers, different teachers organisations have different agenda for the meeting.
The Prathemik Shikshak Sangh (PSS) leaders are expected to raise demand for immediate cessation on process of merger of the schools, proper benefit for the teachers who are adjusted in the cadre of lT from primary teachers, a minimum entry level pay of Rs 16292 for primary teachers and setting up of a maintenance fund for meeting sundry expenses of the schools.
It is also demanding that the proposed three tier system of teacher cadre in state should not be rushed through and should be implemented after solving the issue of promotions of primary teachers.