Reiterating its demand for salary-linked Grant-in-Aid' (GIA) at par with 658 High Schools across the State, the members of the banner of the Block Grant Secondary Teachers' and Employees' Association (BGSTEA) staged Dharnas in front of the residences of their respective MlAs and Ministers on Wednesday.
Divided into several groups, they gheraoed their local MlAs and Ministers like KV Singh Deo, Dr Damodar Rout, Puspendra Singh Deo, Bhupinder Singh and Prasad Harichandan, besides School and Mass Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda seeking their intervention for fulfilment of their demands.
Meanwhile, the association threatened to resume its cease-work agitation from Thursday, besides organising padayatras at the gram panchyat level across the State to seek public support to their cause.
The association has been demanding salary at par with the Government school teachers and service benefits such as promotion and pension instead of a fixed amount.
Of the 1,982 Block Grant high schools, 338 were made examination centres for the annual HSC examination this year.
"We fully reject the new GIA policy of the Government. In the new GIA policy, there is no provision for increment, DA and promotion. The Government has implemented the policy just to divert attention from our genuine demands. We have been cheated for years. We don't trust the Government as it has not kept its promise given on December 7, 2012 in the Assembly," said association president
Prasanta Mohapatra.