Odisha's PDC teachers struggle to sustain without jobs, salary

ROURKELA: At least 120 periphery development committee (PDC) teachers of government schools in Koida and Lahunipada are finding it tough to sustain after losing their jobs due to closure of mines. A few such teachers,  employed by different mining companies, have not been paid for long.

The Periphery Development Committee Teachers’ Association (PDCTA) had put forth their grievance before Sundargarh collector Parag Harshad Gavali seeking payment of their salaries through District Mineral Foundation (DMF) along with statutory benefits on December 8.

PDCTA secretary Samanta Naik said with the mining boom in Koida Mining Circle (KMC), several companies from 2003 onwards had appointed teachers through the periphery development committees headed by BDOs of Koida and Lahunipada blocks. The move was aimed at addressing the issue of shortage of teachers in government schools. The teachers, whose salaries ranged from Rs 1,500 to Rs 16,000 per month, are not paid any statutory benefits like those paid to mine workers including PF, ESI or bonus.

Association sources said the then collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan on May 17, 2022 had assured to enrol the teachers as ‘volunteer teachers’ under the Sundargarh DMF and on his instruction the cluster resource centre coordinators had collected fresh documents from them. After Kalyan’s transfer, they approached Gavali in September, but no decision has yet been taken on the matter.

A volunteer teacher Anita Naik said she is serving at the Kantarkala government primary school in Koida for the last 12 years and has allegedly not been paid since March, 2019 by a mining company whose leasehold right of Kantarkala mine ended in March, 2020. A new company which bagged the Kantarkala mine is reportedly unwilling to pay her.

She said there are several teachers like her whose fate continue to hang in balance as they too have not been paid. A few others have quit. Anita said she and others like her work like regular teachers and perform usual tasks.Sundargarh district education officer AK Pradhan said only the district administration can take a decision on the issue.