Hyderabad: Teaching and non-teaching staff working in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV), Urban Residential Schools (URS) and Samagra Shiksha have announced a “Chalo Assembly” protest on March 20, demanding minimum wages, proper designations, health security and relief from excessive workload.
The Telangana State United Teachers’ Federation (TSUTF), in a statement to the media on Wednesday, March 4, demanded that the state government make adequate budget provisions in the Budget Session of the Assembly to meet the pay requirements of staff who were being paid well below acceptable levels.
The federation demanded that the state government recognise special officers as principals, PGCRTs as junior lecturers, and CRTs, PETs and CRPPs as school assistants in KGBVs and URS. It also demanded that teaching faculty be relieved of night duties currently performed as caretakers, and that dedicated caretakers be recruited for the purpose.
The TSUTF has announced a phased protest, starting with a black-badge demonstration at schools on March 9, followed by protests at mandal and district headquarters and culminating in the “Chalo Assembly” march on March 20, which is likely to coincide with the Assembly budget session beginning March 16.
“The state government is crushing protests with an iron fist. Our demand is that the state government should recognise the hard work of the teaching and non-teaching staff working in these residential schools and the education department, and provide them better salary,” TSUTF said in a statement.
AP faced same issue
The issue is not confined to Telangana. Members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly recently raised the same concern with Human Resources Development Minister Nara Lokesh, pointing out that the basic salary of a KGBV principal stands at just Rs. 31,000, which was well below the salary of a teacher in the model schools that came into existence later.
Lokesh, in his response, said that KGBVs are run as a joint initiative between the Centre and state governments, and that any salary revision would require the Centre’s consent and a corresponding increase in budget allocations. He added that he had already raised the issue with the concerned Union Minister and had been assured that the matter would be resolved.
