The agitating members of Shiksha Acharya/instructor association of Uttarakhand are forced to observe an unending wait for the elusive Government Order for adjusting them as Shiksha Mitras.
The members of the association on the demand of being adjusted as Shiksha Mitras are sitting on a marathon Dharna at old Raipur bus stand since June 3 2012. On Monday the dharna completed 881 days. It is worth mentioning here that the state cabinet had accepted their demand in its meeting on February 28 this year but required Government Order (GO) for their adjustment is still not released.
The President of Shiksha Acharyas / Instructor Association DS Bisht told The Pioneer that the patience of the members is fast waning and the State Government would be solely responsible if they take some extreme step out of frustration. He said that it is unfortunate that the decision of the State Cabinet is not implemented even after such a long time period. Bisht said that delegation of association has met senior officers, Education Minister and Chief Minister on the issue but nothing has happened. He said that due to the stubbornness of senior officials of the education department the orders of state cabinet are being defied and the association would intensify its stir in the coming days.
The Shiksha Acharyas were employed at a paltry wage of Rs 2500 per month to bring out of the school children in fold of elementary education under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in the year 2001. For very deprived children like those living in streets some Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE) centers were also opened under SSA and instructors were posted in them. The government later decided to shut these EGS and AIE centers in a phased manner from the year 2008 and by March 31 2012 all such centers were closed. The state government adjusted some Shiksha Acharyas and instructors as SMs in primary schools of the state. Now the remaining 910 candidates are demanding to be adjusted as Shiksha Mitras who get a monthly stipend of Rs 13000 per month.