Teachers' protest in Srinagar turns violent, many injured

A schoolteacher was critically wounded after police swooped on hundreds of protesting teachers in the capital Srinagar on Wednesday. The teachers were demanding removal of Education Minister Naeem Akhtar who is advocating a screening test for confirmation of teachers’ services who have been appointed through a 15-year-old Rahbar-e-Taleem (teaching guide) or ReT scheme.

More than 60,000 teachers have been appointed since the scheme was introduced in 2000 during Farooq Abdullah’s regime. The issue of holding screening test cropped up in April when a teaching assistant was unable to write a composition on cow during hearing of his case in the HC. On Wednesday, as hundreds of ReTs assembled at Residency Road and began marching towards the civil secretariat, police fired dozens of tear smoke shells to chase them away. Dozens of policemen were seen running after teachers and beating them with canes. Dozens of them were injured. The bustling civil lines area appeared to be battle-ground for several hours until the protesting teachers got exhausted and subsequently dispersed.

President of the ReT teacher’s forum Farooq Ahmad Tantray termed the Government decision of conducting their screening test as dictatorial and insulting. He said, “We are protesting against the dictatorial decision of the Government which is bent on insulting us. All ReT teachers were selected through a transparent process based on merit and the selection orders were issued by the Directorates of School Education in Srinagar and Jammu.”