Bhubaneswar, Jan. 8: Jitendra Sahu, 25, a computer teacher who had been on a hunger strike for the past eight days near the state secretariat, was hospitalised as he fell ill today.
Sahu, along with 4,000 other teachers, all of whom were working under e-Vidyalaya project of the state government, has been on strike since November 9. They demand regularisation of services and urge the state government to free them from the clutches of private agencies.
Sahu, who hails from Khandapada in Nayagarh district, had earlier said: "I have gone through a rigorous process of training and recruitment. I served the school, where I was posted, with sincere dedication. But suddenly I found myself jobless. The government is not even addressing our issues. I will prefer to end my life here rather than going back home unemployed."
The state government had entrusted the job of imparting computer training to high school students under the e-Vidyalaya project to the government-run Odisha Knowledge Corporation Limited (OKCL) in 2014. This corporation, however, instead of recruiting teachers and undertaking other jobs under the project, outsourced the task to two private companies - Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (ILFS) and the Telecommunication Consultants India Limited (TCIL).
While the ILFS was given the responsibility to run the project in 27 districts, the TCIL got three districts - Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur - under its wing.
All hell broke loose when the teachers were given only a meagre salary of Rs 5, 670 instead of the promised Rs 10,000.
"How can we keep mum when the company is looting the money meant for the teachers? We smell foul play," said Asit Parida, an agitating teacher.
The teachers have already approached the CBI and lodged an FIR last week.
"While the entire process is under investigation, the ILFS has issued termination letters to all the 4,000 teachers and started recruiting new people," said Parida.
Arundhati Rout, another computer teacher who was also part of the strike, said: "We had been recruited by the company after a rigorous process of selection. Most of us had to appear for written tests followed by an interview. When we protested, they started terminating the teachers. This should be stopped."
"As soon as we started protesting, the company resorted to pressure tactics. They are even talking about holding fresh examinations, which is a way of sacking teachers who have raised their voices against it," said Nihar Tripathy, a computer teacher. The protesters demand that they be treated on a par with government teachers and regular posts be created in all schools.
Though the agitating teaches have already lodged their complaints with the chief minister's grievance cell and the school and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra's office, they alleged that no one took up their cause. Neither the government nor the company officials were ready to give their reactions.
