Frustration is writ large among thousands of Block Grant teachers in 662 and 488 aided colleges in the State as the Government has little concern to regularize their jobs by converting the Block Grant to Grant-in-Aid (GIA).
This, despite they have served underpaltry remuneration for over last two and a half decades and quite a handful are nearing their age of superannuation. The 662 college teachers’ association will shut all colleges and hold a strike during the Assembly session from August 20.
The association took the decision after it did not find any sincerity in the approach of the Higher Education Minister and the Secretary during a latest round of meeting with them on its old demand to convert Block Grant to GIA.
The association members expressed their disgust with the continuous pretention and false promises of the Government on GIA. The association said that many teachers and employees have already served a major part of their service period with little or no remuneration.
The association was hopeful that the Government would take steps to implement GIA in due course of time when it first provided Block Grant in 2009. But years passed by with the Government dishing out falsepromises only.
“The BJD Government has been in power in the State for over the last 14 years and is well aware of the plight of the Block Grant college teachers. We have held enough of demonstrations and strikes over lastmany years. This time we will leave it to the Government’s conscience to decide whether our demand for GIA is genuine and should be fulfilled,” said a teacher.
Another teacher lamented that the State Government has discontinued the GIA policy for the last 21 years under the pretext of fund crunch. The last policy was made during the tenure of late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik in1994. While the Congress Government remained cold to it till 1999, the BJD Government has been avoiding it since it came to power.