The system of Shikshakarmi which was started by erstwhile Digvijaya Government of Madhya Pradesh before inception of the Chhattisgarh State actually degraded the academic scenario. How can one expect academic standard, when the teachers started working with Rs 500 honorarium?” said Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh. Singh was chairing thanks giving ceremony ‘Teacher’s Conclave’ held here at Sardar Balbeer Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium on Sunday evening.
Addressing the teachers’ conclave, Singh said the decision of merger of services of ‘Shikshakarmis’ to school education department was not his alone. The entire Cabinet conceded and it was a unanimous decision, he said.
Present as a special guest Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development, Ajay Chandrakar said whatever the teachers wanted was given to them and now it is a time for them to perform their duties in return accordingly.
Notable, the Shikshakarmi system was inherited in Chhattisgarh state from undivided Madhya Pradesh where it was enforced in the academic year 1994-95.
After a long struggle, Chief Minister Raman Singh declared the merger of shikshakarmis’ services on June 10. The decision took shape after the cabinet decision on June 18.
It was a fulfilment of a ‘long cherished dream’ of Shikshakarmis and with the historic decision of Chhattisgarh government, a process of making more than 1.10 lakh Shikshakarmis, government employees began. Regularization in such a large scale was a record in itself.