Thousands of lecturers and non-teaching staff belonging to the All Odisha 662 (+2 and +3) Non-Government College Teachers and Employees Association staged a massive protest in the state capital on Tuesday.
Defying adverse weather conditions, educators from all 30 districts gathered at Master Canteen Square before marching in a large procession toward Lower PMG.
Demonstrators raised slogans against the state government’s delayed promises regarding pension schemes, service conditions, and long-pending promotions.
Addressing a massive gathering at Lower PMG, association leaders issued a stern warning: if their key demands are not met immediately, they will completely shut down classes and initiate an indefinite sit-in demonstration across colleges starting in October.
Core Demands & Key Grievances
The association outlined several primary demands aimed at bringing parity to non-government college staff across Odisha:
- Pension & Service Conditions: Implementation of full pension benefits, service rules, and coverage under grant-in-aid (GIA) for excluded employees.
- Promotions & MACP: Execution of the pending policy granting promotions every 10 years alongside Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) for non-teaching staff.
- Extension of Retirement Age: Raising the retirement age limit from 60 to 62 years, aligning non-government college staff with public sector standards.
- Government Regularisation: Comprehensive nationalisation and government takeover of all 662 non-government colleges in the state.
Association leaders highlighted that despite receiving appointment orders under 1993 regulations, numerous staff members have served without salary for nearly 30 years. They expressed regret that despite favourable High Court observations regarding pensions, administrative delays continue to stall official implementation.
The protest was led by State President Golak Nayak, Joint General Secretary Satap Uddin Ahammad, Dr Gagan Beura, Employees Association President Prashanta Samal, Dr Jyotsna Bastia, Ashok Purohit, Dr Tapan Jena, Treasurer Ranjan Pradhan, Gadadhar Satapathy, and Pratap Das, alongside district presidents and secretaries from all 30 districts of Odisha.
The leadership reaffirmed that if the state government fails to initiate formal resolution talks, the agitation will escalate statewide, halting higher education coursework in affected colleges starting next month.
