Teachers declare series of protests

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 4

The Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha on Sunday held a meeting at the Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall here in support of their demands. During the convention, teachers also announced their plans to hold protests and dharnas in the months of April, May and June.

The convention was held to announce the future policy of teacher bodies on their key demands. Their demands are regularisation of the services of all contractual teachers working in government schools (on full salaries); reversal of the procedure as per which thousands of vacant posts in schools were being eliminated in the name of transfer policy; opening of schools being closed in the name of Covid as per the protocols; restoration of the old pension scheme; implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission; payment of the pending instalments of dearness allowance; immediate implementation of pending promotions of all sections of teachers, etc. The meeting also laid stress on the ‘anti-teacher’ policies of the state government.

Key demands

• Regularisation of services of all contractual teachers working in government schools
• Reversal of the procedure as per which thousands of vacant posts in schools were being eliminated in the name of transfer policy
• Opening of schools being closed in the name of Covid as per the protocols
• Immediate implementation of pending promotions of all sections of teachers

The meeting was led by state conveners Sukhwinder Singh Chahal, Vikram Dev Singh, Balkar Singh Valtoha, Surinder Kamboj and Baljit Singh Salana as well as conveners Sukhraj Singh Kahlon, among others.

A series of dharnas and protests were announced to be held in the months of April, May and June by teachers. They decided that on April 18, a large number of teachers would hand over a protest letter to the state education minister by reaching at his residence. It was also declared that on April 29, district-level dharnas would be held by teachers across the state and in the second week of May, protest letters would be handed over to four Cabinet ministers. Finally, they declared that on June 1, a huge dharna would be held in the constituency of the state education minister.

In the beginning of the meeting, tributes were paid to deceased principal Tarsem Bahia, employee leader Ramesh Kumar Sharma, employee and farmer leader Datar Singh and to all those farmers whose died during the ongoing farmers’ protests on Delhi borders.

Addressing a gathering, teachers said a set of recent directions and policies of the state government were jeopardising education in the state. Taking on the Centre, they said the Modi government’s Education Policy-2020 was being implemented under the excuse of transfer policy through rationalization plan which was robbing government primary, middle and high schools of posts. They said side by side the school merger agenda was also serving the same ends.

They also condemned the beating up of unemployed ETT teachers during the Education Minister’s Sangrur rally and demanded action against those responsible for the act.