Intensifying their stir against the State Government’s apathetic attitude towards them, thousands of school teachers of various categories, particularly Block Grant teachers
affiliated to various associations, on Tuesday staged a massive rally in the city.
Block Grant Teachers’ Association, Odisha Secondary School Teachers’ Association (OSSTA), AlSTA, Odisha Retired Teachers’ Association, Madrasa Teachers’ Association, Sanskrit Teachers’ Association, School Teachers’ Federation of Odisha (STFO) and Contractual Teachers’ Association took part in the rally.
Accusing the Government of adopting divide-and-rule attitude, the teachers alleged that the Government doesn’t have a policy framework to address the concerns of various groups of teachers.
“Even though the compensation should be same for equally qualified and experienced teachers, they receive different amounts based on the scheme they have been hired under,” Odisha Block Grant Teachers’ Association President Prasant Mohapata told reporters.
“Besides, the Government used force on teachers and arrested many of them when they demonstrated against this injustice. This time, we do not budge. We have the support of various teacher groups. This agitation would continue till our demands are met,” he added.
Tight security arrangements were made to avoid any untoward incident.
Though the teachers had again threatened to gherao the Naveen Niwas, they
were demonstrating in front
of the Assembly till the report was filed.