large number of Bachelor of Education (BEd)/ Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) qualified unemployed candidates participated in a fast at education directorate on Monday. The members of federation of BEd/ TET are camping at the education directorate for last 99 days.
On Monday the members of the federation congregated at the directorate and engaged in slogan shouting. They demanded that the department should immediately start recruitment in vacant posts of 6200 primary teachers in the State.
The members then started a mass hunger strike to press their demands. The federation alleges that the education department has not specified the exact number of vacant posts of primary teachers in the state while an RTI inquiry has revealed that 6200 posts of teachers are vacant.
The federation has chalked out a week long programme in which different methods of agitation would be adopted by the agitators. The federation is furious as the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) has asked the state government to appoint BEd qualified candidates in the primary schools of the State till March 31 only.
After this date only candidates having Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) would be eligible for being appointed as primary teachers.
The number of BEd / TET qualified candidates in the state is approximately 25000; these youths would be rendered not eligible for being employed as primary teachers after the above mentioned date.