Bhubaneswar, Sept. 24: The state government's decision today to provide full grant from the next academic session to schools that now receive block grant ended a 43-day strike by teachers that had paralysed 4,000 private high schools across the state.

This was one of the major demands of the agitating teachers. However, the government's decision has left the protesters divided. While the School Teachers' Federation of Odisha announced its decision to defer the strike, the Block Grant Secondary School Teachers' and Employees' Association said it would continue its agitation till a formal notification about providing full grant was issued.

General secretary of the association Prashant Mohapatra said schools would remain closed until their demands were met. "We do not believe in the verbal assurance of the government," said Mohapatra, adding that even written assurances made in the past had not been fulfilled.

He announced that they would take out a padyatra to the chief minister's Hinjill assembly constituency on September 28 to highlight the government's anti-teacher stance.

The association has been spearheading the agitation since August 18, demanding full grant instead of block grant. The body claims that 26,508 teachers from 2,209 block grant high schools had taken part in the agitation affecting around 3.5 lakh students.

The decision to provide full grants to block grant schools from the 2016-17 academic year was taken at the inter-ministerial committee meeting, chaired by finance minister Pradip Amat.

School and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra said: "The grant-in-aid (GIA) order, 2013, formulated by the state government, which made provision for block grant, will be amended. Full grants will be given to block grant schools, keeping the paying capacity of the state government in view."

Block grant would be provided to 399 private schools as well, which do not get any aid from the government, he said. A notification to this effect would be issued by tonight, the minister said.

Following these decisions, he appealed to the teachers' associations to call off their strike keeping the interests of the students in mind. "Studies in these schools have been affected to a great extent. The teachers should not play with the future of students any more," said Mishra.

Later, a School Teachers' Federation of Odisha delegation met chief minister Naveen Patnaik and informed him that the agitation had been called off and teaching had resumed in their schools.

"We will teach on holidays to make up the loss," said federation president Prakash Jena.