SHIKSHA MITRAS GET HEADS TONSURED, SHUN ‘JANEU’
Cops don’t allow them to take out march, leading to verbal duel between the two sides
LUCKNOW : Hundreds of contractual teachers, including 50 women, got their heads tonsured and several Brahmins gave up their ‘janeu’ (sacred thread) in Lucknow on Wednesday in support of their demands of equal pay for equal work and regularisation of services. Under the banner of Aam Shikshak/Shiksha Mitra Association, thousands of contractual teachers have been staging a protest at Eco Garden in Alambagh area for the last 69 days to draw the government’s attention towards their demands.
LUCKNOW: Hundreds of contractual teachers, including 50 women, got their heads tonsured and several Brahmins gave up their ‘janeu’ (sacred thread) in Lucknow on Wednesday in support of their demands of equal pay for equal work and regularisation of services.
Under the banner of Aam Shikshak/Shiksha Mitra Association, thousands of contractual teachers have been staging a protest at Eco Garden in Alambagh area for the last 69 days to draw the government’s attention towards their demands.
“Today is the 69th day of our protest and no BJP minister has turned up to listen to our plight,” a protester said.
Appointed during the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government, the ‘shiksha mitras’ were regularised during the Samajwadi Party regime in 2014.
However, the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of over 1.73 lakh ‘shiksha mitras’ in 2017 and declared that their contractual positions would not be converted into government jobs unless they clear the UP TET (teachers’ eligibility test).
After the apex court judgment, the salary of contractual teachers came down to Rs 3,500 from the earlier Rs 38,848. Later, the Yogi Adityanath government increased their salary from Rs 3,500 to Rs 10,000 and assured them steps to regularise their services.
On Wednesday, the protesters intensified their agitation and decided they would tonsure their heads and take out a protest march. The police, however, did not allow them to take out the march which led to a verbal duel between the two sides.
President of the Shiksha Mitra Association Uma Devi said: “The teachers serving on contract basis in primary schools have been demanding merger of their services with that of teachers who are on the payroll. We are demanding payment to them as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.”
“For the last 19 years, successive state governments have been ignoring our demands. Despite assurances, nothing has been done to regularise our services. We are holding agitation since May but no one is paying heed to our demands,” she added.
The protesters said due to the apathy of state government even married lady teachers had to tonsure their heads to register their protest.
“Our protest will intensify in the days to come as this government is indifferent to our demands,” Uma said.
“We also performed prayers for our fellow colleagues who passed away while fighting for our rights. We also had tricolour in our hand to send out the message that we are patriotic and fighting for one’s demand does not make one anti-national,” a protester said.
Vice-president of the teachers’ association Santosh Kumar Dubey said, “It is a do or die situation for us. Successive governments have been denying justice to over 1.73 lakh contractual teachers for nearly two decades. If the state government fails to fulfil our demands, it will face serious consequences.”
Suman Singh, who was among those who tonsured their heads, said they were appointed long time back but they had not been absorbed in the education department. “We want that our services be brought on the rolls of the education department. We are not entitled to any benefit that regular government employees get,” she said.
Another protester said they were suffering despite working like any other regular government employee. “Some of our fellow teachers died for the want of treatment,” he added.
The contractual teachers are demanding appointment as permanent teachers and appointment without written exam to those who have passed TET.
A protester said chief minister Yogi Adityanath had met a delegation of shiksha mitras in June and promised to resolve the issue but nothing happened.