Promote Shikshakarmis into assistant lecturers: Jogi

Raipur, November 11, 2011

Launching a scathing attack on the government for not fulfilling demands of agitating Shikshakarmis, former Chief Minister and legislator Ajit Jogi on Friday said that anarchy prevailed in the education department under BJP rule and the teachers were facing worst time of their life. He demanded from the government to quickly promote the Shikshakarmis into assistant lecturers. “The pay scale of the Shikshakarmis is less than peons. The government should at least give respectable post and salary to the teachers,” he said on the occasion of Shiksha Diwas.

He said the government should stop playing with the emotions of the Shikshakarmis and must quickly fulfill their demands. “The government has compelled the Shikshakarmis to end their strike by announcing only ten percent interim relief for them,” he said.

“The recruitment of Shikshakarmis started in all the states in 1995 under Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. According to recruitment rules, there was a provision to regularise Shikshakarmis after five years. Initially, they were getting Rs 500 salary. The Congress government in Chhattisgarh disbursed Rs 3000 salary to them but the BJP is doing nothing in favour of these teachers,” Jogi said.

“According to Central rules, the Shikshakarmis should be promoted to assistant lecturers after three years of their services. The Centre is providing about 75 percent grant to the states. The state budget has increased to Rs 40000 crores but the Raman Singh government has not enhanced salary and other facilities of the Shikshakarmis,” Jogi said.

He pointed that there were 1.80 lakh Shikshakarmis in the state while 45 regular teachers. “In 2016, fifty percent of the regular teaching staff would retire and there would be huge demand of teachers but the government is still hibernating,” Jogi said.