Plans to hold protests on Teachers’ Day
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The All Goa Secondary School Teachers Association (AGSSTA) Tuesday demanded withdrawal of the government circular extending school timings by half hour, during a Tiswadi block meeting held in Panjim.
Earlier, AGSSTA members met chief minister Manohar Parrikar to reiterate this demand from the teaching community which has resulted in much resentment and unrest since its implementation from this academic year and handed a memorandum.
The AGSSTA has already held four meetings so far in different talukas where teachers voiced their fair and just demands and their anger over government’s apathetic attitude towards teachers. The secondary school teachers are also planning to hold protests on Teachers Day next week.
They deemed the extended school timings as arbitrary and in total violation of Goa School Education Rules 1986 and in violation of ‘Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009”.
‘When all the government servants are working for not more than 194 days per year, increasing the work load of teaching community to 237 days is unjust, unfair and discriminatory in nature,’ reads the memorandum.
It also adds that the circular issued on August 6 and 7 further complicates the issue rather than solving it. The memorandum urged the government to protect the fixation of part B scales and to stop recovering the same. The association impressed on the government to extend the benefit of MACPS to the teaching community at the earliest.
According to AGSSTA, all the sectors of employees are given financial upgradation on completion of 10 years, 20 years and 30 years as per MACPS besides their regular promotion. But the teachers are given only one upgradation of senior scale on completion of 12 years in one cadre in their entire teaching career.
It points out that most of the teachers are deprived of the second upgradation due to the pre-conditions which cannot be fulfilled by the institutions.
‘Despite the fact that teachers opted for MACPS or Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme in place of senior scale and selection scale as per the suggestions made by the Directorate of Education, the same is not implemented for the teaching community,’ reads the memorandum.
AGSSTA Tuesday also demanded grant of 30 days sick leave to teachers and urged the government to extend the transfer policy to aided school teachers.
The President of AGSSTA Dattatraya Naik said, “the chief minister has agreed to look into our issues and find solutions. He will be meeting us again within the next few days.”
