Ranchi: Hundreds of para-teachers from different parts of Jharkhand trooped to the capital on Monday for a demonstration outside the chief minister's residence to mount pressure on the government to fulfil their demands.
Barricades on the approach to Raghubar Das's official residence on Kanke Road prevented them from reaching their destination and they held their meeting at Morabadi grounds instead under the umbrella of Ekakrit Jharkhand Para Shikshak Sangharsh Morcha from 10am to 2pm.
In the evening, chief secretary Sudhir Kumar Tripathi invited Morcha leaders for talks on their key demands, including a decent hike in honorarium, regularisation of jobs and facilities on a par with regular schoolteachers.
On August 26, 2015, the government had in writing accepted some of these demands and promised to meet them, but that didn't happen.
There are 68,000 trained and untrained para-teachers in Jharkhand.
Principal secretary (school education and literacy) Amrendra Pratap Singh on Monday reiterated that the demands would be fulfilled soon.
"The para-teachers want 25 per cent hike in their honorarium. They are hired on contract under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The state had increased their honorarium by 10 per cent. For the remaining 15 per cent, a proposal was sent to the Union HRD ministry. It was turned down," Singh said.
After the hike, para-teachers who have cleared intermediate get Rs 8,500 every month while graduate and trained para-teachers receive Rs 11,000. Graduate, but untrained para-teachers get Rs 10,300.
Last year, during a recruitment drive, 15,000 para-teachers were absorbed, claimed the principal secretary.
"The government will honour its agreement signed with para-teachers. They demanded special leave for female para-teachers for which an order was released. They had alleged harassment by block-level education officers who earlier regulated and maintained attendance records. Now, the responsibility has been entrusted with local mukhiyas. The district superintendent of education has been made appellate authority to look into their grievances," said Singh.
