The Odisha Elementary School Teachers’ Association (OESTA) on Sunday said that over 17,000 Siksha Sahayaks would begin an indefinite dharna during the upcoming Budget Session of the Assembly if they are not regularised.
OEASTA president Yudhistir Sahoo, secretary general Jeet Ranjan Mohapatra and general secretary Aratbhanjan Sahu informed this in a statement. As per norms, a Siksha Sahayak is promoted as Junior Teacher after completion of three years in job and is regularised after the next three years. Though 17,800 Siksha Sahayaks have completed six years and eight months in job, they are yet to be regularised. “We have already approached the Minister and the Secretary many times over the demand, but in vain. We are yet to know when Siksha Sahayaks will be regularised. If the Government does not accord regular teacher status to all 17,800 Siskah Sahayaks, we will begin a mass dharna during the coming Budget Session of the Assembly,” they threatened.