Bhubaneswar: Thousands of teachers continued with their cease work policy, hampering academics at over 4,000 schools and colleges across the state.

Block grant teachers under the banner of Odisha School College Teachers and Employees' United Forum have been staging protest since August 16, demanding implementation of the seventh Pay Commission recommendations and the new grant-in-aid system.

"As there has been no assurance from the state government regarding fulfilment of our demands, we will continue with the strikes. We will stick to our demands," said forum leader Golak Nayak.

In another development, the Odisha Assembly proceedings were disrupted following ruckus created by Congress members on the teachers' agitation in the state.

The Congress alleged that various schools were now locked up because of the teachers' strike for the past 23 days. They also brought an adjournment motion on the issue, following which the Speaker adjourned the House till 3pm on Friday. Leaders of Opposition political parties visited the protesters at the dharna to press for their demands.

Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra and BJP state unit in-charge Arun Singh visited the protest venue at Mahatma Gandhi Marg to extend their support to the teachers.

At the same time, there has been no response from the state government yet.

"We will shortly come to a decision, but classes will be held no matter what," said school and mass education minister Badri Narayan Patra. The protesters have also threatened to shift their protests to the MLA quarters in the city.

"From Tuesday onwards, we will sit on dharna in every block. We have support from the local people, and the protest is going to escalate," said Nayak.

The teachers will also organise rallies at panchayat level from September 17 if their demands are not met.

In 2017, chief minister Naveen Patnaik tried to resolve the long-standing protests by proposing to abolish the block-grant system and replace it with a grant-in-aid system, where the state government promised a hike in financial assistance to such schools. But, the negotiations broke down after the government had attached conditions to its compromise.

The school and mass education department on Thursday issued a notification directing all district and block education officers to deduct salaries of teachers for the days they remain absent without permission.