Bhubaneswar: Junior teachers stage protest, demand job regularisation

BHUBANESWAR: Thousands of junior teachers working in state-run schools staged a demonstration in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, demanding regularisation of their jobs. Around 13,000 junior teachers took part in the protest at Mahatma Gandhi Marg, carrying posters and banners and raising slogans in support of their demands. The demonstrators demanded immediate regularisation of their posts and scrapping of the contractual appointment system for junior teachers.

The demonstrators said they had been denied the benefit of regularisation despite the state government issuing a notification for the purpose, as the matter is currently under litigation. Following an earlier protest by the teachers, the Odisha government had agreed to their demand and the School and Mass Education Department issued a notification on April 2 for implementation of the regularisation, a protesting teacher said.

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Orissa HC stayed job regularisation

However, the Orissa High Court stayed the regularisation of their jobs on April 14 and sought an affidavit from the state government detailing the criteria prescribed for the process, he said. "Five months have passed since the court's instruction, but the government has yet to respond to the court order. We are suffering due to the delay," he said. "We have been serving under irregular conditions for years. The government issued notifications, but they remain confined to paper while our families struggle," he added.

The protesters demanded immediate steps by the government to have the stay vacated and implement the regularisation process. They also threatened to intensify their agitation if their demands were not addressed.