Bhubaneswar, Sept. 12: The state school and mass education department’s diktat to teachers to seek its permission before going on an agitation has not gone down well with teacher organisations.

Teachers’ associations have been agitating and taking out rallies in the city frequently without the permission of departmental authorities.

Therefore, on Friday, the department issued a directive that teachers cannot hold demonstrations without ‘valid reasons’.

It wrote to the commissioner of police not to grant permission to the teachers for organising rallies unless duly communicated with the department.

“This is a totally undemocratic approach. Had the department been willing to discuss issues with us, why would there be rallies at all?” asked Kishore Panda, president of the Orissa Secondary School Teachers Association.

“This is a plan to stop us from raising our voices. Is the bureaucracy going to decide what is wrong and what is right? Why can’t they find out the cause behind so much resentment? We have the democratic right to protest and it is their responsibility to listen to our grievances,” said Pitambar Sethi, general secretary of All Orissa Primary School Teachers’ Federation.

“We are ready to hold discussions with these associations but they should communicate to us and discuss before they decide to hold any demonstration,” said Aparajita Sarangi, school and mass education secretary. She added that they should all understand the Orissa Government Servant Conduct Rules, 1959.

Abani Baral, secretary general of All Orissa Federation of Teachers’ Organisations, condemned the department’s orders calling it a ‘fascist approach’.