Other States - Orissa   

Government school teachers on indefinite dharna

Staff Reporter

CBI probe into alleged violation of State Administrative Tribunal order sought

Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

UP IN ARMS: Members of All Orissa Government School Teachers' Union demonstratng before the State Assembly in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

BHUBANESWAR: Members of All Orissa Government School Teachers' Union (AOGSTU) here on Wednesday launched an indefinite dharna in front of the State Assembly alleging non-compliance of guidelines on teachers' promotion to headmasters' post in government schools.

"We will continue to sit on dharna until Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik came forward to intervene in the matter. We don't have any faith in bureaucrats handling education in the State," AOGSTU general secretary Ramakanta Mohapatra said.

He said, "despite the fact that Supreme Court ruled that 854 headmasters, who have been granted promotions, are ineligible for the post, bureaucrats for some reasons have decided not to revert the promotions. Even order of the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) was ignored by the administration."

A trained graduate teacher with seven years of teaching experience could only be taken as headmasters. However, 854 teachers were appointed by sidestepping the statute, teachers alleged. Wearing black badges these teachers said their dharna would continue even after the Assembly session, which began on Wednesday.

They demanded promotions be reverted from 854 teachers, who were graduated to headmasters' post. Besides, all facilities including increased pay scale being provided to these `ineligible headmasters' be withdrawn immediately, the teachers said.

The association demanded a CBI inquiry into the `violation' of Supreme Court as well as SAT's order in this connection.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Governor expresses concern over growing extremism
State not to encourage new steel plants
Culture department to hold book fair in all districts
Puri Shankaracharya opposes Sethusamudram project
Forum rejects mobile distributor appeal
Government school teachers on indefinite dharna
Former High Court chief justice remembered
Forest labourers to demonstrate
Making these children even more special
Leading from the front

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu