Bhubaneswar, Dec. 13: Police today detained over 100 teachers after they gheraoed residences of six ministers, alleging no progress in the matter of regularisation of their jobs.
The teachers under the banner of Odisha Gana Sikshak Mahasanga gheraoed the residences of school and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra, higher education minister Pradeep Panigrahi, energy minister Pranab Prakash Das, law minister Arun Sahu, parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Keshari Arukh and food supplies and consumer welfare minister Sanjay Das Burma - all are part of the ministerial committee formed to regularise the gana sikshaks.
The protesters rued that the state government had not kept its promise despite recommendations by the ministerial panel. On July 25, the committee recommended job regularisation for the gana sikshaks, and subsequently a gazette notification was also issued.
"Five months have passed since the state government issued a notification to regularise jobs of the gana sikshaks, but there has been no progress yet," said Pranab prakash Jena, a teacher.
Some teachers also protested against the state government's decision to make the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test compulsory for regularisation. This would affect a lot of teachers. About 15,000 trained gana sikshaks will be deprived of getting permanent jobs, said Monalisha Paikray, another teacher.
"Many of us are on the verge of retirement, and a majority of us have already served for over 20 years. Further delay of regularisation is not tolerable. The government should immediately frame the modalities,"said another teacher.
The agitating teachers threatened to intensify the strike if there was further delay in issuing the modalities.
"The teachers could have discussed the issues instead of staging protest. The decision to frame the modalities will be taken shortly, though it will be difficult to announce a specific date for it," said minister Debi Prasad Mishra.
The state government had, in 2008, appointed 22,000 teachers in primary schools across the state. Candidates, who had passed Class X, were appointed at that time. Subsequently, these teachers had been asked to get training. Following this about 16,230 teachers did their Plus Two and undertook the certificate in teachers' training within three years of appointment. Some of them had also appeared for the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test, which is now considered mandatory for teaching in primary schools.
