Left groups are instigating teachers to protest: Soni

REGULARISATION ROW ‘Have to work on low salary for regularisation, else stay on contract’

JALANDHAR: During his visit to a school on Sunday, school education minister Om Prakash Soni commented on the ongoing statewide protests by teachers against the government’s condition of reducing salary of contractual teachers post regularisation.

On October 3, the government regularised the service of 8,886 teachers, who were recruited under the central education programme, but with the initial salary of ₹15,000 for three years.

The minister said, “Comrades are instigating few teachers to protest against the government’s decision.”These teachers were appointed under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) or the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) on contractual basis. The government has taken this decision to secure their jobs, he said.

Soni said the government has to follow rules, even a sub-divisional magistrate gets ₹15,000 during his probation period.

“The government is not compelling anyone to get regularised, they can keep working on contractual basis. However, they have to follow rules to get regularised,” he said.

SONI SHOWN BLACK FLAGS

Members of Kapurthala SSARMSA Adhiapak Union, who were protesting against the low salary after regularisation, tried to gherao Soni’s cavalcade near the DC Chowk in Kapurthala on Sunday. The teachers also raised slogans and showed black flags to the state education minister.