Bhubaneswar: Thousands of school teachers staged a protest here on Tuesday, terming it as ‘Black Day’ to press for their demands including equal pay for equal work, pension and other service benefits.
Wearing black badges, the teachers under the banner of Odisha Secondary School Teachers’ Association (OSSTA) took out a protest rally here at Lower PMG and demanded the state government to consider their demands.
“We have been demanding government aid for unaided schools, implementation of Seventh Pay commission recommendations, pension and other service benefits for teachers. However, the government is not paying any heed to our genuine demands. So, we were forced to hit the streets on Teachers’ Day,” said Ranjan Kumar Das, general secretary, OSSTA.
Vinod Mohanty, a protesting teacher, said, “We have given 30 important years of our lives for the service of society and to build the future generation. But the government neglected us. If we do not get pension, how will we survive after retirement?”
Meanwhile, a meeting of the inter-ministerial committee, formed to look after the demands of teachers, is scheduled to be held on Tuesday evening to discuss this issue. The protesting teachers are hopeful that their demands will be considered by the panel.
On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the contribution of teachers towards building a healthy society by filling life with the light of freedom is unique.
Taking to X, Patnaik said, “My humble tribute on the occasion of holy Guru Divas and birth anniversary of former president, eminent philosopher, veteran politician Dr Sarbapalli Radhakrishnan. The guru-disciple tradition is a unique feature of Indian culture. The contribution of gurus towards building a health society by filling life with the light of wisdom is unique.”
