Affidavit Row: Teachers refuse to budge, protests to continue

Bhubaneswar: The protesting teachers and staff of more than 1,000 schools and colleges of the State will continue their stir till government issues a notification regarding the withdrawal of the affidavit clause prescribed in the Grant-in-Aid (GIA) Policy-2017.

The teachers under the aegis of Odisha School and College Teachers’ and Employees’ United Forum (OSCTUF) made their stand clear before the an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by the State Finance Minister on Saturday.

"The meeting was quite successful. We are satisfied with it. But a notification against the affidavit clause is yet to be issued by the government. We will decide our next course of action only after the government's decision," said convenor of the association, Golak Nayak.

Earlier on March 30, a 12-member team of the agitating teachers held a discussion with the School and Mass Education and the Higher Education Minister.

However, it had also ended on an inconclusive note as the teachers insisted that they would not cooperate in the Class 12 paper evaluation process till government publishes a notification related to the affidavit clause.

Meanwhile, the government is likely to take a final call on the issue by today evening.