TEACHERS STAGED DHARNA OVER 11 POINT DEMANDS

TEACHERS STAGED DHARNA OVER 11 POINT DEMANDS

17-JUNE-ENG 9

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-----------------------------The Bihar State Elementary Teachers' Association staged a sit-in protest outside the District Magistrate's office in Bhojpur, pressing for an 11-point charter of demands. The teachers raised several issues—including timely salary disbursement, promotions, transfers, the old pension scheme, and payment of arrears—and warned that they would lay siege to the Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session if their demands were not met.

Arrah Teacher News: (Report by Dinanath Mishra) Responding to a call from the state unit, the Bhojpur chapter of the Bihar State Elementary Teachers' Association held a one-day sit-in protest outside the District Magistrate's office regarding their 11-point demands. The protest was presided over by the Association's District President, Pankaj Kumar Singh 'Mantu', while General Secretary Parmeshwar Paswan conducted the proceedings.

Addressing the gathering, District President Pankaj Kumar Singh 'Mantu' stated that the government is financially weakening teachers by failing to pay their salaries on time. He noted that 'niyojit' (contractual) teachers are facing a starvation-like situation. Due to the government's flawed policies, issues such as timely salary payment, EPF updates, promotion to the graduate grade, time-bound promotions, promotion to the post of Headmaster, inter-district and intra-district voluntary and mutual transfers, and the payment of arrears remain unresolved. He asserted that if the teachers' problems were addressed, the education system would automatically be strengthened. He warned that if the demands are not considered, the Legislative Assembly will be besieged during the monsoon session.

General Secretary Parmeshwar Paswan and Treasurer Dharmendra Prasad stated that the government must immediately take cognizance of issues such as salary anomalies, improvements in service conditions, and pending promotions. Teachers must be guaranteed security for both the present and the future. The teacher leaders emphasized that agitation remains the only option to get their legitimate demands accepted. The teachers' association presented an 11-point list of demands to the government. Key demands included the disbursement of salaries for all categories of teachers on the first of every month; ensuring the payment of outstanding salaries; granting promotions to the graduate grade, the post of headmaster, and time-bound promotions; initiating voluntary and mutual transfers; implementing the Old Pension Scheme; updating EPF records; clearing all salary arrears; implementing revised pay scales with pay protection; providing compassionate appointments to the dependents of deceased teachers; conducting half-day classes on Saturdays in Hindi-medium schools and Thursdays in Urdu-medium schools; and granting appropriate pay scales and state employee status to physical education teachers and health instructors. Following the conclusion of the protest, the teachers submitted a memorandum detailing these 11 demands to the District Magistrate of Bhojpur.

The protest was attended by District President Pankaj Kumar Singh 'Mantu', General Secretary Parmeshwar Paswan, District Secretary and Media In-charge Mohammad Shaukat Ali, District Vice-Presidents (Nirbhay Kumar Singh, Nand Kishore Singh, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Sadakat Hussain, and Shankar Kumar), District Secretary Upendra Kumar Singh, along with presidents, secretaries, and general secretaries from various blocks and hundreds of teachers.