Guest teachers protest in Bhopal, accuse Govt of breaking promises:Demand regularisation, bonus points, and annual contracts; warn to intensify protest

Thousands of guest teachers from across the state, under the banner of the Guest Teachers United Front, staged a protest in Bhopal on Wednesday against the government’s breach of promises. During the agitation, the teachers united to demand the fulfillment of their pending demands and warned that if a solution is not found soon, the movement will be intensified further. State President Sunil Singh Parihar said that before the assembly elections, the state government had promised to implement a policy for guest teachers similar to that of Gurujis, give bonus marks in direct recruitment, and secure their future through annual contracts, but none of these have been implemented so far. This has caused great resentment among teachers. He also said that Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had also assured justice for guest teachers, but no concrete decision has been taken so far. Organization accuses government of breaking promises Senior official Ramchandra Nagar and State President K.C. Pawar alleged that the government is backing away from its promise of annual contracts. Due to this, there is a danger of approximately 1.25 lakh guest teachers becoming unemployed after April 30. They demanded that experienced guest teachers affected by direct recruitment, promotion, and transfer should be accommodated on a priority basis in vacant positions. State Secretary Ravikant Gupta demanded an immediate resolution of technical difficulties arising in the e-attendance system. He informed that many times attendance cannot be recorded due to technical reasons, resulting in a deduction of honorarium, and in some cases, payment for the month of September is also pending. B.M. Khan raised questions about anomalies in the recruitment process, saying that guest teachers working since 2008 are not getting the full benefit of their experience. Only 5 years of experience is being added in the score card, whereas it should be increased to 10 marks per year (maximum 100 marks). Additionally, marks from the 2008 and 2011 eligibility examinations should also be added. Provincial President Toofan Sharma said that guest teachers fulfill all necessary qualifications, and justice should be done based on their experience. These are the main demands – A special departmental eligibility examination should be conducted for regularization, and at least 30% posts should be reserved for guest teachers. – 50% posts in teacher recruitment should be fixed for guest teachers, 4 bonus marks (maximum 20) should be given every year, and 10% relaxation should be provided in eligibility marks. – 10 marks (maximum 100) should be added every year in the score card, and experience marks should be given upon completion of 50 days of work; marks from the 2011 contract examination should also be added. – A 12-month annual contract should be implemented, and adjustments should be made upon relieving from duty. – Insurance, PF, health facilities, and 13 casual and 3 optional leaves should be provided. – The e-attendance system should be improved, and the deducted honorarium should be paid immediately. – In case of technical problems, offline attendance should be considered valid. See teachers’ demonstration Demand to fulfill old promises State President Sunil Singh Parihar said that many promises were made earlier regarding guest teachers. He also reminded that there was political support on a large scale on these issues before, but now the same leaders are silent on this matter. This has increased the resentment among teachers.