Kalahandi, YNN (Nilesh Kumar Nag): The Odisha Government High School New Pension Scheme Teachers’ Association, Kalahandi District, under the leadership of President Samanta Kumar Pattajoshi, Secretary Girija Shankar Sahu, and State Convener Saroj Kumar Sahu, organised a protest. Hundreds of teachers appointed in government high schools between 2004 and 2014 gathered at the District Education Office. They submitted a memorandum addressed to the Honourable Chief Minister, Education Minister, Chief Secretary, and Education Secretary through the District Education Officer and District Collector, demanding the rectification of discrepancies in their service conditions.
The peaceful procession began at the District Education Office and proceeded to the District Collector’s office. Approximately 200 teachers from various blocks participated in the programme.
Between 2004 and 2022, the Odisha government appointed teachers on a contractual basis in high schools. According to government rules, teachers who completed six years of regular service were to be regularised. Accordingly, teachers appointed between 2004 and 2014 were regularised after completing six years of service. However, in November 2022, the then government introduced a repeal of the contractual system, regularising teachers appointed from 2013 onwards and granting them all benefits from the date of joining regular service. Unfortunately, teachers appointed between 2004 and 2013 were completely overlooked, resulting in senior teachers receiving lower salaries than their junior counterparts.
In 2023, the government issued an SOP to address this anomaly, but regrettably, it ignored the contractual teachers appointed between 2004 and 2010, leading to a classification among teachers in government high schools. Teachers appointed between 2004 and 2014 repeatedly raised the issue with the Departmental Secretary and Minister, but their demands have gone unheeded.
State Convener Saroj Kumar Sahu stated that if the government fails to address their legitimate demands by 22nd September, hundreds of teachers from Kalahandi will join a state-level protest in Bhubaneswar on that date to fight against the injustice meted out to them.
Association President Samanta Kumar Pattajoshi urged the government to immediately abandon its dilatory tactics, include the six-year contractual period in regular service, and grant six increments to resolve the classification issue among teachers in government high schools. Secretary Girija Shankar Sahu added that the government must promptly address the injustice and discrepancies faced by senior teachers in government schools, failing which teachers will be compelled to take to the streets. He further warned that if their demands are not met, over 400 teachers from Kalahandi will participate in the state-level protest in Bhubaneswar starting from 22nd September.
A significant point raised was that most teachers appointed between 2004 and 2014 are serving as Headmasters, Acting Headmasters, or Senior Teachers. If these teachers join the protest, the resulting situation will be the government’s responsibility.
The programme was attended by Vice-Presidents Pranati Mahapatra, Shakti Prasad Meher, Rikhiram Behera, Shibashankar Kar, Pushpadhwaja Bag, Ashok Kumar Biswal, Sambhu Bhushan Sahu, Atulya Pradhan, Tapan Bhoi, Abhaya Gadtia, Gokul Chandra Pradhan, Sanjeev Sharma, Birendra Kumar Acharya, Nilanchal Pan, Chandan Sahu, Diptimayee Singh and hundreds of other teachers.
