Teachers’ Day celebrated even as block grant teachers observe 'black day’

Bhubaneswar: Schools across the state wore a festive look as students teamed up to host a number of activities and make their teachers feel special on occasion of Teacher's Day even as a section of block grant teachers decided to observe the day as 'Black Day'.

At some schools, teachers were offered prayers with flowers and ‘aarti’ by students as a mark of gratitude and reminiscent of the ancient 'guru-shishya' tradition. Many schools observed day-long cultural events and competitions to mark the day while at few others, students played the role of teachers and took classes for their juniors.

Floral tributes were paid to former president Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in schools and other educational institutions. Special programmes were held to felicitate teachers who have made notable contributions in the field of education.

On the other hand, as per their announcement, block grant teachers and lecturers observed the Teachers’ day as black day over non-fulfilment of their demands by the state government.

The Odisha School College Teachers and Employees’ United Forum has threatened to lock up all block grant schools and colleges from Thursday.

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The teachers have been agitating for past 21 days near Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar demanding abolishment of block grant system, sanctioning of full grant and implementation of service rules

“We have decided to continue with our agitation, as the government is not paying any heed to our demands,” an agitating teacher said.

Meanwhile, Mass Education Minister Badri Patra stated when discussions are on regarding the demands, what is the logic behind observing the Teachers’ Day as 'Black day.'

Notably, the annual state and district-level programmes to felicitate teachers has been put on hold for an indefinite period.