Srinagar/Baramulla, June 9: Teachers who have been appointed under centrally sponsored Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme, today held protest outside Deputy Commissioners (DC) office here and presented a memorandum to the concerned vis-à-vis their demands.
It may be in place to mention that SSA teachers whose salaries are withheld for several months have decided to observe upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr as a Black Day to protest governments’ alleged insensitive approach in fulfilling their legitimate demands.
Chanting slogans like ‘‘we want justice and release our salaries’’, dozens of SSA teachers including men and women this afternoon held protest outside Deputy Commissioners office here to press for their demands.
The demands include release of pending salaries, seventh pay commission arrears and de-linking salaries with state sector.
“We get batons for demanding our rights; our families have been forced for starvation as the government has withheld our salaries for months altogether,” said Harpal Singh Bali a protester.
He said since SSA teachers have received sixth pay commission arrears, government is bound to implement seventh pay commission for them.
Teachers later presented a memorandum with regards to their demands to Deputy Commissioner Srinagar.
Meanwhile, thousands of teachers and masters working under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) on Saturday staged strong protest demonstration in Baramulla against the state government for its ‘lackadaisical’ approach in mitigating the salary issues of SSA RMSA teachers and denying the benefits of 7th pay commission.
Dejected and depressed teachers, assembled outside the office of Chief Education Officer in Mini Secretariat premises and took out a protest rally towards District Development Commissioner’s office.
Shouting anti-government slogans, the agitating teachers said inordinate delay in release of their salary has created immense problems for them.
“We are pushed to the wall and our families are facing starvation in this holy month of Raman,” said Senior Trader Union leader and State Secretary JKTF Mohmmed Rafiq Rather who led the protest in Baramulla.
“We demand immediate release of salaries as per 7th pay commission,” added Rather.
The protesting teachers threatened massive agitation and state wide lock out of schools and offices of the education department if government fails to settle the issue of SSA, RMSA teachers.
After submitting a memorandum to the DDC Baramulla, the agitating teachers dispersed peacefully.
A massive protest rally of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers was organised in north Kashmir’s Kupwara on Saturday against the government for failing to fulfill their demands.
Teachers from all zones of Kupwara district marched from Boys higher Secondary School Kupwara to Deputy Commissioners office where they shouted slogans against the government.
In Bandipora also the teachers staged a protest in which hundreds of teachers participated.
Govt constitutes high-level committee to look into SSA teachers issue: Zulfkar
SRINAGAR, JUNE 09: Minister for School Education, Hajj and Auqaf and Tribal Affairs, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali, today said that the Government has constituted a high-level committee to obtain inputs from all stakeholders in order to ensure speedy resolution of SSA teachers’ issues.
The committee headed by Secretary School Education Farooq Shah would have Director Sarva Sakshi Abiyan (SSA), Director School Education Kashmir, Director School Education Jammu, Special Secretary Education, Director Planning Education Department and FA&CO of Education Department as its members.
The Minister said that the present dispensation is well aware of issues faced by SSA teachers and everything possible would be done to mitigate their hardships.
Zulfkar said that administration is tirelessly working to find an appropriate full-time solution to the issues of SSA teachers and are optimistic that soon they would be able to address them once and for all.
The Minister said that he had a detailed meeting with Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development. He said during the meeting, the issues of SSA teachers were discussed threadbare.
Zulfkar said that he was assured by the Union Minister that the issues would be looked into and whatever possible help in this regard would be extended.
