The members of Trained Unemployed Physical Teachers Association (TUPTA) held a vociferous demonstration outside the residence of State Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani on Wednesday and demanded that the State Government should create posts of physical education teachers in the government schools of the state.
later on the initiative of the education minister, a delegation of TUPTA met the State Chief Minister Harish Rawat at State Assembly. The President of the TUPTA, Sunder Singh Dhoni told The Pioneer that the CM assured the delegation that the government is serious on their demands and a decision would soon be taken. Dhoni said that the members of the association are satisfied by the assurance given by the CM but added that the agitation would continue till their demands are accepted. He said that the guidelines of the World health Organization (WHO) clearly mention that for every thirty students a physical education teacher should be appointed.
Earlier in the day the members of the association took out a march to the residence of the education minister and when they were prevented by the police they squatted at the site and engaged in slogan shouting.
TUPTA, the association Bachelor of Physical Education (B.P.Ed.) and Diploma in Physical Education (D.P.Ed.) qualified unemployed graduates are on protracted agitation for its demand. The association undertook a marathon Dharna at the protest site in 2014-15. The members also pressurized the state government by undertaking hunger strike but in the month of January last year the government was able to persuade them to break their hunger strike by assurance that their demands would be accepted. However nothing happened and the association was out again on the path of agitation in the month of January this year.
There are about 18500 unemployed B.P.Ed and M.P.Ed candidates in the state and they are demanding that on lines of the neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh the Uttarakhand government should also create a post of Physical education teacher in all the government primary schools. TUPTA also demands that a post of Physical education lecturer should be created in all the Inter Colleges of the State.