Agitating contractual teachers to move HC against ‘victimisation’

CHANDIGARH: The protesting contractual teachers of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) in the state have decided to move the Punjab and Haryana high court against what they have termed as their “victimisation” by the school education department.

The teachers, who are holding protests in chief minister Amarinder Singh’s hometown Patiala for the past five weeks for regularisation of their services without salary reduction, have accused the department of allegedly persecuting them by withholding salaries, transfer to far-off schools.

“The state government is terrorising the contractual teachers who have not opted for regularisation at reduced pay. They are being replaced with contractual teachers who have fallen in line. We will file a petition in the high court next week. However, we will not challenge our regularisation,” said SSA-RMSA Teachers Union president Hard eep Toderpur. The protesting teachers will gherao the houses of finance minister Manpreet Badal and school education minister OP Soni in Bathinda and Amritsar on November 18

Around 100 teachers, includ ing more than three dozen union leaders, have transferred to far away schools for supporting or participating in the agitation. In some areas, these abrupt, mid session transfers have even led to protests by villagers who locked up the schools.

School education secretary Krishan Kumar, in instructions sent to all DEOs, said many teachers under SSA and RMSA who gave their option for regu larisation, were given appoint ment letters.

“When some of them go to schools to join as regular teach ers, some people do not allow them to join. In some places school management committees are misguided and close the schools,” Kumar added. HTC