Protesting teachers assured of meeting with CM on Nov 5

The ad hoc teachers of the Punjab government schools, agitating for regularisation of their jobs without a pay cut, Tuesday said they will continue their stir despite Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's assurance to meet them next month.

The ad hoc teachers, who have earlier rejected the state's offer to either get regularised after working for three years on a slashed, basic pay of Rs 15,000 or continue to work on contractual basis, were given the assurance in a meeting with two key officials in the chief minister's office.

The teachers, who met CM's Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar and Officer-on-Special-Duty Sandeep Sandhu, meanwhile, vowed to continue with their stir.

After the meeting, the teachers said though they remain averse to take the pay cut for regularisation, the final decision on the issue would be taken during their meeting with the chief minister on November 5.

We have been assured that the CM will meet the teachers' union members on November 5 to take a final call on our demands, said Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha's state committee member Bikramjit Singh.

He added that the teachers would continue their ongoing protest at Patiala till their demands are met.

Singh said they were also assured of revocation of suspension of some teachers participating in the stir.

The teachers have been holding a sit-in protest at Patiala, the chief minister's constituency. Some of them are on fast-unto-death for regularisation of jobs without a pay cut.

The contractual teachers have been getting Rs 42,300 per month and they say it is impossible for them to work on such a drastically slashed salary with basic pay of Rs 15,000.

The Punjab Cabinet had on October 3 decided to regularise the services of 8,886 teachers, recruited under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), as well as those of Adarsh and Model schools.

The teachers, however, were offered a basic of pay of Rs 15,000 only for three years after their regularisation.