Block grant teachers put stir on hold in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Agitating block grant teachers of private schools and colleges put on hold their indefinite strike till July 15 following an assurance from the State Government to consider their demands within three months. The teachers who have been on the street for nearly two months demanding abolition of block grant and implementation of full grant-in-aid decided to suspend their agitation after a meeting with Chief Secretary A P Padhi in the Secretariat here. “Teachers’ representatives had a meeting with us, during which they placed three demands. We assured them to consider their demands within three months and requested them to call off their agitation to which they agreed,” Padhi said after the meeting.  

On the invitation of the State Government, a delegation of All Odisha School-College Teachers and Employees United Forum, the umbrella body of block-grant teachers, met Chief Secretary Aditya Padhi. Soon after the meeting with the Chief Secretary, the forum held its steering committee meeting and decided to put the strike on hold.

The forum has given a two-month ultimatum to the State Government to  fulfill its demands, forum convenor Prakash Mohanty told reporters. Mohanty said school teachers and lecturers will hit the streets again, if their demands are not met within the stipulated time. He, however, said the teachers would now join evaluation of Plus-II answer papers. The teachers had boycotted the first-phase evaluation of Plus II answer sheets (from April 4 to 14) and also did not cooperate in the second phase evaluation process that began on April 16.

The teachers are demanding inclusion of issuance of a notification regarding withdrawal of a compulsory affidavit clause to avail grant-in-aid. Earlier, the State Government had made a policy for compulsory submission of affidavits to avail grant-in-aid facility while abolishing the block-grant system. As per the provision, the teachers had to withdraw all court cases against government in any legal forum and declare that they would not move court in future.