The 63-day strike of para-teachers in Jharkhand came to an end on Thursday, following a successful meeting between a para-teachers’ delegation and the government, held under the chairmanship of state school education and literacy department minister Neera Yadav.

“We have called off the strike after the government’s designated high-level committee assured us that its report on our [job] regularisation would be submitted in three months and an increase in remuneration of para-teachers up by Rs 4,800 will be applicable from January 1,” said Ekikrit Para Shikshak Sangharsh Morcha (EPSSM) state member Sanjay Dubey, who led the delegation.

As per a press communiqué issued by the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) director Uma Shankar Singh, the remuneration of every category of para-teachers was increased from the existing recommendation on remunerations. Now, a TET (teacher eligibility test) passed trained teacher of higher primary level (Classes 6 to 8) will receive Rs 15,000 per month, while trained teachers will get Rs 13,000 and untrained teacher will receive Rs 11,500 a month, the press communiqué says.

A TET passed primary level (Classes 1 to 5) teacher will get Rs 14,000 a month. A trained teacher and untrained teacher will receive Rs 12,000 and Rs 10,500, respectively.

State education minister Neera Yadav said, “The meeting was successful and we hope normal educational activity in schools will take place from Friday.” Some 63,000 para-teachers went on strike from November 16 last year. Even as some came back to work after the threat of dismissal, more than 45,000 continued the strike.

The ongoing strike impacted classes in about 35,000 schools, with 12,000 schools being very badly affected, since they were mostly run by para-teachers, Ekikrit Para Sikshak Sangharsh Morcha (EPSSM) office bearers claimed. However, Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) officials had claimed around 9,000 schools is run by para-teachers and they are shut due to the strike.

Hindustan Times carried a series of reports on impact in schools due to the strike. HT in its Thursday’s edition highlighted how students were suffering while their examinations are just a month away.

First Published: Jan 18, 2019 11:28 IST