Odisha hikes junior teachers’ salary by 50 per cent

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government Monday announced an increase in the salary of junior teachers, both regular and contractual, engaged in primary schools of the state by 50 per cent. A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said the hike will be effective from January 1, 2022.

The decision of the salary hike will benefit as many as 33,038 junior teachers, including 13,324 contractual and 19,714 regular ones. chief minister Naveen Patnaik took this decision after increasing the grant-in-aid to employees of all aided non-government schools, colleges, and Madrasas following the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

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The contractual junior teachers who were getting a salary of Rs 7,400 per month will now receive Rs 11,000. Similarly, the salary of regular junior teachers has been increased to Rs 13,800 from Rs 9,200. The hike will cost the state exchequer an additional Rs 168 crore per annum, the statement said.

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The Odisha government recently inducted 6,131 newly-appointed secondary school teachers as part of the ongoing school transformation programme under the 5T initiative. The government had set a target to fill up 11,000 posts of teachers in the first phase. Only 7,000 applicants have cleared the exam conducted by School and Mass Education Department.

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