Teachers shave own heads, demand regularisation of jobs

Bhubaneswar: In an novel way to press their demands, thousands of SC/ST and physically handicapped (PH) teachers, under the aegis of Odisha SC/ST Ganasikhyaka Mahasangha on Wednesday tonsured their heads here in the lower PMG area.

The teachers who had staged a demonstration outside the state assembly demanding regularisation of their jobs on Thursday, said they will decide about their next course of action tomorrow, if the government doesn’t take any step regarding this.

“We tonsured our heads protesting that our repeated appeals to regularise our jobs have fallen in deaf ears. We are not going to move out from here till our demands are met,” Madhusudan Sarkar, an agitating teacher said.

“If 69 teachers of our category could be regularised in Ganjam district, the same policy must be implemented in other districts as well,” Sanjay Kumar Muhra, another teacher demanded.

President of the Mahasangha, Prahallad Badaseth, said the state government in 2013 assured the teachers to regularize their jobs after six years of service.

“The state government has regularized and also increased the salaries of other agitating teachers recently, but not ours. Our salaries are so meagre, it is difficult for us to run our houses," he added.