The association of guest teachers resumed their agitation on Wednesday. The association termed their agitation as ‘maha andolan’ of Government school guest teachers who have been out of jobs since March 31.
These teachers were jolted by an order of Uttarakhand High Court which rendered the whole process of their appointments as unconstitutional. The State vice-president of the association Harish Chandra Arya said that the State Government should pass ordinance for their appointment.
He made it clear that the guest teachers would not accept their appointments in the schools till March 2017 only as advised by the HC. These teachers decided to hold a secretariat march on August 20 to press for their demand.
Meanwhile at the protest site near Parade ground these teachers gathered in large numbers on Wednesday and engaged in vehement slogan shouting. The education department had employed 6,214 guest teachers on purely temporary basis against the vacant posts of lecturers and lecturer Teachers (lT) in the Government schools last year. On March 31 this year the department terminated their contract following which these teachers started an agitation.
Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani even sat on a hunger strike in support of the agitating guest teachers during the President’s rule. When the Congress Government was restored in the State, it passed a GO for reinstatement of these teachers. This GO was contested in the court which rendered the entire process of recruitment of guest teachers as unconstitutional.