Patna: Contractual teachers fight a pitched battle with cops

PATNA: Police on Thursday lobbed teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge to stop contractual school teachers from marching towards Bihar assembly from Gardanibagh. Thousands of contractual teachers had earlier gathered at a protest site at Gardanibagh, demanding salary at par with permanent teachers working in various government schools in the state.
According to sources, police used water cannons to disperse the protesters when they tried to break the barricades.When the protesters started marching towards the assembly, the police lobbed teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
An officer posted at Gardanibagh police station said five teachers, including a woman, were arrested for disturbing law and order. Several teachers sustained minor injuries and few of them were taken to nearby hospitals.
Amit Kumar, general secretary of TET Teachers’ Association, said around 35 teachers were injured in lathicharge. “We were peacefully protesting at Gardanibagh, but the police used water cannons to provoke us. We are teachers, not criminals. Our demands are legal, but the police beat us black and blue without any reason,” he said.
President of Bihar Rajya Shikshak Sangharsh Samanve Samiti Rajnish Ranjan said the teachers would continue their protest until their demands were fulfilled. “We will start a phase-wise agitation soon,” he added.
The protest was supported by 12 teacher associations, including Nagar Prarambhik Shikshak Sangh, Madhyamik Shikshak Nyay Morcha, Bihar Primary School Teachers’ Association, Parivartankari Prarambhik Shikshak Sangh and Bihar Rajya Prarambhik Shikshak Sangh.
The teachers were demanding equal pay for equal work and better service conditions for contractual teachers, exemption from non-academic work, common schooling system and release of funds for textbooks and school uniform for kids.
Contractual teachers have been battling for over a decade to get equal pay for equal work. After the Patna high court’s judgement in October 2017 in favour of around four lakh Niyojit teachers who are getting lower pay than the regular teachers, the state government moved Supreme Court (SC). However, the SC rejected the petition of Bihar teachers’ associations in May.
MLCs to state govt: Hold talks with teachers
Cutting across party lines, members of the legislative council on Thursday expressed concern in the House over “brutal treatment” meted out to protesting contractual teachers. They said the government should immediately hold negotiations with the teachers and sort out the issue.
“All Niyojit teachers are on road today. They are not safe. Kindly look into the issue as it may lead to untoward incidents,” BJP MLC Nawal Kishore Yadav urged the government. RJD MLC Ram Chandra Purbey echoed Yadav’s tone.