UP, ME school teachers suspend agitation

Though 40,000 upper primary and middile english school teachers, belonging to Odisha Vidyalaya Sikshak Mahasangh, today agreed to return to class rooms, 26,800 high school teachers working in 2,209 block grant high schools continued their agitation.
The teachers, belonging to different organisations, were on strike over one month demanding salary on the basis of the grant-in-aid policy instead of block grant mode of payment. They said the teachers should be paid equal salary for equal work.
While the teachers in government schools are being paid salary as per the grant-in-aid policy, the teachers in private institutions get payment on the basis of block grant mode, they said.

"The Mahasangh has decided to suspend the agitation for two months as the government has assured us to consider our one-point demand of providing salary on the basis of grant-in-aid and repeal block grant system," Mahasangh convenor Prakash Chandra Mohanty told reporters after a discussion with the state government.
Mohanty said about 40,000 teachers of 4,000 schools had participated in the agitation since August 10. "The schools will be opened from today and normal classes will be resumed," he said.
Meanwhile, teachers of 2209 high schools belonging to the Block Grant Teachers' and Employees' Association announced that they would continue their agitation. The Block Grant high schools remained closed due to teachers agitation since August 18.

Earlier in the day, the inter-ministerial committee headed by finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat held discussion with the agitating teachers of different organisations.
"The teachers should join schools without further delay. As such studies of lakhs of students have been affected due to agitation. The government has been considering their demand. Steps will be taken keeping in view the financial situation of the state," said School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra.