The block grant teachers stage a protest in Sambalpur on Monday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 1: Academic activities at the secondary-level were disrupted across Orissa because of protests by teachers and other school staff against alleged step-motherly attitude of the state government towards them.

Members of Block Grant Secondary School Teachers and Employees Association (BGSSTA) today locked up as many as 1,983 high schools across the state for an indefinite period. The protest is likely to affect nearly two lakh students enrolled in different block grant high schools across the state.

Block grant high-schools are not owned by the government and receive government grants in lump sum.

The agitating teachers and other employees are demanding the immediate abolition of block grant system and implementation of grant-in-aid rule, which provides for payment of 100 per cent grant to run the non-government schools. The block grant high school teachers said that while their counterparts in government and semi-government schools were being paid a salary of Rs 15,000 a month, they received just one-third of that in the shape of block grant.

At present, block grant teachers get Rs 4,995 a month as remuneration and peons get Rs 2,548.

As announced earlier, the association members launched their indefinite agitation today. They locked up offices of the circle inspector (CI) of schools in 19 educational circles. The association had previously threatened the government to boycott the dress code, election duty, BPL survey and examination duty unless the government fulfilled their demands.

Association president Prasant Kumar Mohapatra said: “Nearly 2,400 teachers and employees will sit on a hunger strike at PMG Square on August 17, on the opening day of monsoon session of the Assembly to lodge their protest.”

In Sambalpur, the agitating teachers locked the office of inspector of schools, Sambalpur Circle. “The teachers and other employees of the block-grant secondary schools are retiring without any retirement benefits. We have also demanded to formulate a policy detailing service conditions and service benefits of block-grant school teachers and other employees,” said Karam Chand Sahu, secretary of association’s Sambalpur circle unit.

In Balasore, teachers also locked the CI’s office, demanding fulfilment of their demands. “We will not join our duties till our demands are fulfilled. On previous two occasions, the government had assured to fulfil our demands. But we have been cheated by the government,” said secretary of Balasore unit, Bhagabata Mohanty

Agitation by block-grant high school teachers and other staff was also reported from Ganjam and Gajapati districts. Under the Berhampur education circle, school in as many as 159 blocks were locked up and about 1,600 teachers of these schools refrained from teaching and resorted to a dharna in front of the CI’s office. “The strike has badly affected academics,” said Purna Chandra Acharya, secretary of Ganjam circle that includes Ganjam and Gajapati districts.

He also threatened to turning the protest in to a people’s movement if the state government failed to fulfil their demands.