By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Sept 11: Accusing Dispur of not being fair and square in ensuring them their legitimate rights, a group of 536 fixed pay teachers moved Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal on Monday seeking justice.
The sad tale of the 536 fixed pay teachers reeks of the injustice they have all along been meted out by the State Education Department since 2001. The deprived teachers huddled together under High School Fixed Pay Teachers’ Committee (HSTFPC) and started to raise their demands, but to no avail. Following an advertisement for the appointment of teachers in high schools and higher secondary schools in 1996 the selection committees selected candidates and sent their lists to Dispur for appointment. Following an order issued on March 25, 2001 the Department appointed the teachers selected by the committees at a fixed pay. The department regularized the jobs of the fixed pay teachers in 2005, barring the candidates from Sivasagar, gaon, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur. Since then they have been left in the lurch as none of the subsequent governments made any attempt to listen to their woes. As though they are cursed, they were left out by the Six Pay Commission as well. The pay commission made no recommendation to hike their pay. In 2010 the department appointed more teachers at a fixed pay of Rs 8,000 per month, which, however, was raised up to Rs 15,500 per month in 2012. Strangely enough, in the same schools while senior ‘fixed pay teachers’ are getting Rs 2,500 per month their junior ‘fixed pay teachers’ are getting only Rs 15,500 per month. Then in 2013-14 Education Sarat Barkataky had discussions with them. He, however, raised their salaries up to Rs 15,500 per month, but failed to regularize their jobs. Now they seek the Chief Minister to do them justice.