Agitating teachers’ strike enters third day

Bhubaneswar: The agitation by teachers under the banner of Block Grant Secondary School Teachers and Employees Association entered third day on Friday with the striking members adamant not to call off the strike until the State government accepts their demands.

Around 32,000 teachers and support staff from 2,208 schools across the State are up in arms against the State government over the latter’s ‘anti-teacher’ policy. They have been demanding fulfilment of their nine-point charter of demands that include government takeover of grant-in-aid schools, uniform pay scale for similar job profiles and provision of all the facilities to block grant teachers which are being offered under mass education and secondary education systems.

“Unless the State government takes a decision in this monsoon session of the Assembly regarding our demands, we will not go back to schools. The BJD government will be responsible for the loss of study time of the students,” association general secretary Prashant Mohapatra said.

He stressed that the association has decided not to cooperate with the government during the ensuing panchayat polls and it will stick to the decision.

“We will boycott the polls,” he stated.

To the demands of the teachers, the Odisha government meanwhile has said it is looking further into the matter.

“Our inter-ministerial team has already recommended few steps in this regard which we have communicated to the teachers. Besides some other points are being analysed by them and very soon we will take a decision in this regard,” School and Mass Education minister Debi Prasad Mishra stated.