Students’ march foiled

ibune News Service

Jammu, January 30

The police on Wednesday foiled an attempt of students from the University of Jammu (JU) and various colleges to gherao Raj Bhawan in protest against the decision of the State Administrative Council (SAC) to adjust Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers against regular posts.

The protesters, who disrupted traffic on the busy Bikram Chowk and flyover connecting Old City with the chowk, had a scuffle with policemen near the residential quarters of MLAs after the police forcibly stopped them from marching towards Raj Bhawan.

The protesting students assembled at the chowk and raised slogans against the SAC’s decision and termed it “anti-educated youth”, demanding its immediate revocation.

The protesters claimed that the SAC decision was aimed at filling 28,000 posts of teachers by adjusting the already recruited SSA and ReT teachers and alleged it was a grave injustice with educated youth.

“The SAC order has clearly mentioned that fresh recruitment of regular teachers will be made only after filling of supernumerary posts through adjustment of ReTs. Besides, the SAC has also stopped 50 per cent recruitment of school lecturers through the J&K Public Service Commission. Now, 100 per cent posts of lecturers will be filled through promotions,” Mashkoor Ilahi Khan, JU president of the National Secular Forum, said.

Later, the administration allowed five representatives of protesters to meet the administrative secretary of school education, Ajit Kumar Sahu.

The representatives of students claimed that the government had sought 14 days from them to look into their issue by constituting a committee in this regard.