Teachers at a demonstration in Dispur. File picture

April 11: Teachers of lower and upper primary schools in Baksa district have been forced to raise their voice outside the classrooms to get their message across, literally.

The Baksa Zilla Upper Primary and Lower Primary Shishak Kalyan Samiti, a union of venture teachers under Baksa district, staged a demonstration at Rajmela Field in Kokrajhar on Monday. The teachers were protesting against the delay in release of salaries since July 2006.

“We were receiving our monthly salaries regularly from the government of Assam till June 2006. But the salaries were stopped from July 2006. The teachers, specially those appointed during 1999 in lower primary and upper primary schools under Tamulpur, Baksa and Tihu-Barama block elementary education office, have not received their salaries since the Bodoland Territorial Council took charge of disbursing salaries to employees,” said Bongshidhar Das, president of Baksa district Shishak Kalyan Samiti.

Das said the teachers appointed during the period in the entire state, including the BTC belt, are receiving their salaries regularly. Only teachers in Baksa district seem to be at the receiving end.

The teachers have accused the BTC authority of turning a deaf ear to their grievances. “We have been urging the BTC authority to take necessary steps to release the salaries immediately. But despite our repeated requests we are yet to get any positive response,” said Das.

The union also accused BTC executive member from Baksa district Hitesh Basumatary for manhandling Basanta Kalita, an assistant teacher of Naopara Lower Primary School on February 8 at Mushalpur block elementary education office.

Manin Chandra Boro, the secretary of the Samiti, said that besides the teachers, the students are the worst sufferers. “How can one expect a teacher to concentrate on his duty towards the students without receiving his salary for over eight to nine months? We, too, have a family to feed and look after. Still we are rendering our services for the sake of the children,” he said.

The union has also submitted a memorandum to BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary demanding the release of pending salaries from July 2006 and stop termination of services of lower and upper primary schoolteachers appointed in 1999. The teachers have launched a series of agitational programmes, including a dharna at Dispur last gate on March 6.