Vocational subject teachers protest against delayed salaries; suspend classes

SHIMLA: Vocational subject teachers in Himachal Pradesh suspended classes and held a dharna at Chaura Maidan here on Monday to protest against delayed salaries and unpaid arrears. The teachers are demanding immediate dismissal of the service provider companies that hired them, along with timely payment of salaries and arrears, said Ashwani Datwalia, president of the Vocational Teacher Association.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Rakesh Kanwar said the teachers were making an issue for no reason and warned of action against teachers not resuming classes. "We are sitting here on dharna, but no official has come to talk to us. The fact that the students are suffering is bothering us, and we are willing to end the strike provided the government gives us assurance," Datwalia told PTI.

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Vocational education in Himachal Pradesh

Vocational education in the state was initiated in 2013, and the teachers were hired through private companies. Currently, there are a total of 2,164 vocational teachers in over 1,100 government schools, catering to about 80,000 students in classes 9-12, Datwalia said. On October 5, the Directorate of Education directed the companies to pay the arrears by October 20, but some failed to comply, he said.

He warned of intensifying the protest if the union's demands were not met. He insisted that the service providers be removed and the government deal with them directly. In response to the strike, Education Secretary Kanwar said funds had been allocated to the companies under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and to his knowledge, only one company had not paid the arrears.

The salaries of these teachers were hiked this year, Kanwar said, adding that they were unnecessarily making an issue. He warned that action would be taken against the teachers if they did not resume classes.