Bhubaneswar: A day after holding a candle light march for the well-being of the State, hundreds of teachers of 488-category block grant colleges of Odisha on Wednesday threatened to boycott the ensuing +2 and +3 examinations and evaluation of answer sheets, if the government fails to fulfill their demands.
The teachers, who have been on a marathon demonstration to press their demands at the Lower PMG area here for over two weeks now, took out a massive rally from Master Canteen area and marched towards Naveen Nivas today. After they were stopped midway by the police, the agitating teachers protesting under the banner of All Odisha 662 (+2 &+3) Non-Government Lecturers’ and Employees’ Association (AONGLEA) staged a sit-in between Master Canteen and Raj Mahal square.
“On February 15, an inter-ministerial committee meeting chaired by the Finance minister failed to come up with a solution. Another meeting of the committee has been scheduled for tomorrow. We hope that instead of using divisive techniques, they will fulfill our demands,” Atal Bihari Bal, general secretary, 488-category block grant college teachers and employees coordination committee said.
“We will boycott the ensuing +2 and +3 tests and the paper evaluation if the State government fails to take a decision this time. Its high time the government takes a step in this regard,” Bal said.
Currently, there are about 15,000 teachers and employees in the 662 and 488 category aided colleges getting block grant.