As the deadline to resume work has already ended, Chief Secretary Sudhir Tripathi on Thursday directed to appoint TET qualified candidates to replace the unyielding para teachers. The CS in his direction also said to start dismissal process of those who have been booked under various penal sections.
Direction has been given to the SPs through video conferencing to arrest those para teachers who are on run despite being named after the violent protest took place on the Statehood Day. The CS also said that no change in the deadline given to them would be done.
Reacting to the reports of threat being given to the regular teachers deputed to the affected schools, the CS directed administration to provide protection to them and setup control rooms.
At the same time School Education Secretary AP Singh has also directed district level officials not to depute regular teachers to any other school to deal with emergency situation and instead hire educated persons from the school management committees on the remuneration being given to para teachers.
He also directed officials to initiate action against para teachers appointed without proper documents in Palamu, Garhwa, Dumka, Charta, Giridih, Hazaribagh and other districts.
Meanwhile, a handful of children attending Gandhaipur primary school of Pakur block have recorded an emotional as well as threatening video in support of para teachers that has been addressed directly to Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
The video seemingly shot on Thursday sympathises with agitating para teachers while referring them as their well wishers and goes on denounce the State Government while threatening to discontinue their studies.
“Humare Para teachers humare sukh-dukh to samajhte hain. Lekin kuch dino se unke hadtal par chale jane ke karan humari padhai badhit ho gayi hai. Agar unki samasya ka samadhan nahi hua to hum padhai chod denge. (Our para teachers are with us through thick and thin but in last few days our education is disturbed after they went on strike….if their problems are not solved we will leave our education),” says the group of students.
About 67000 para teacher from all over the State are on indefinite strike demanding regularisation of their service and higher pay scale which the Government is unwilling to listen to.
Clash of para teachers with the police on the Statehood Day on November 15 landed over 200 of them into custody. Bail applications got denied on Thursday.
Pakur district and Block level officials denied any information about the video shoot however a local village representative requesting not to be named admitted that the school children indeed did that to show solidarity with local teachers.
The Government on its part had set November 20 as deadline before the teachers to resume work but of no avail. Principal Secretary of the Department of School Education AP Singh mentioned on Thursday that replacement had been found out.
“New recruitments have started at block and district levels. All the concerned officials have been directed in this regard,” he said.
Moreover situation has failed to improve very little. Most of the regular teachers deputed in the schools facing shutdown in the want of teacher have reported about noncooperation and applied for cancelation of the deputation. “Schools have been found locked. Teachers are returning to us and reporting. We are taking their application,” said a BEEO.