Teachers Call Parliament March over TET Exemption, Pension Reforms
As part of the protest plan, teachers across the state will attend work wearing black badges on January 9 and send memoranda to the President and Prime Minister from all districts. Leaders from several state and national teachers’ federations attended the meeting and extended support to the proposed agitation.
Hyderabad: Teachers’ unions from across the country have announced a series of protests, including a march to Parliament in Delhi on February 5, seeking exemption from the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for senior teachers and the reversal of policy decisions affecting government education.
The call was made under the banner of the All India Joint Action Committee of Teachers' Organisations (AIJACTO) at a roundtable meeting held at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by AIJACTO steering committee member and State Teachers Union state president G. Sadanandam Goud.
Union leaders expressed concern over the continued silence of the Union government and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), four months after a Supreme Court judgment related to TET. “Despite the court verdict, neither the Centre nor the NCTE has clarified how teachers appointed before August 23, 2010 will be protected,” one of the leaders told DC, alleging that earlier exemption notifications were not placed before the court.
They warned that strict implementation of the judgment could have far-reaching consequences. “If senior teachers are forced to clear TET within two years, lakhs of teachers could lose their jobs, leading to closure of thousands of schools and denial of education to poor children,” C. Ravi, a TSUTF leader said.
The meeting demanded that the Union government immediately file a review or curative petition in the Supreme Court or amend the Right to Education Act to safeguard senior teachers. Other demands include withdrawal of the National Education Policy, stopping school closures and mergers, scrapping the National Pension System and Contributory Pension Scheme, restoration of the old pension scheme, equal pay for equal work, and voting rights for primary teachers in teachers’ MLC elections.
As part of the protest plan, teachers across the state will attend work wearing black badges on January 9 and send memoranda to the President and Prime Minister from all districts. Leaders from several state and national teachers’ federations attended the meeting and extended support to the proposed agitation.
