A large number of government primary school teachers boycotted classes and took out a rally here on Tuesday to press for the fulfilment of their demands.

The teachers participated in the strike in response to a call given by the Karnataka State Government Primary School Teachers Association. The protest rally began at the Sarakari Naukarara Bhavan and passed through the major streets to culminate near the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

The association submitted to the Deputy Commissioner a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister. Their main demands are: consider primary school teachers who are graduates but working in undergraduate cadre as graduate teachers and pay them according to the pay scale concerned, cancellation of new pension scheme and re-introduction of the old pension scheme, immediate commencement of the transfer process considering the percentage of last three years (the government fixes percentage of employees to be transferred every year but no transfers have been done in the last three years), starting LKG and UKG in government primary schools, solution to the problem of excess teachers, payment of additional time bound increment after 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service to teachers as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, solution to the problem of teachers/employees appointed under the rural weightage scheme.

The former president of the State Primary School Teachers Association Basavaraj Gurikar, district president Y.H. Banavi and others led the protest.